untie

verb

un·​tie ˌən-ˈtī 

untied; untying or untieing

transitive verb

1

: to free from something that ties, fastens, or restrains : unbind

untied our hands

2

a

: to disengage the knotted parts of

untie a shoe

b

: disentangle, resolve

untie a traffic jam

intransitive verb

: to become loosened or unbound

Synonyms

• unfasten
• undo
• loosen
• unbind

Examples of untie in a Sentence

He untied the package and opened it.

She untied the horse from the post.

Recent Examples on the Web

The situation began to unfold after the ship was untied from the dock at 8:16 p.m. Three minutes later, the tugboat Charles D. McAllister assisted the Cuauhtémoc off the pier. —Doc Louallen, ABC News, 30 June 2025

But the audience reaction still reflects something interesting about the challenges of adaptation and how some great stories come with knots that cannot be untied. —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025

And the bow isn’t just for show: For all but two of the color options, it can be untied and tightened to make the shoe fit more snugly, which was used to our tester’s benefit. —Alyssa Grabinski, People.com, 21 June 2025

The Dodgers untied it in a big way, greeting Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada with five consecutive hits in the sixth inning. —Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 17 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for untie

• ai
• aye
• bae
• bi
• buy
• by
• bye
• chai
• chi
• cry
• die
• dry

Kids Definition

untie

verb

un·​tie ˌən-ˈtī 

ˈən-

untied; untying or untieing

1

: to free from something that ties or fastens : unbind

untie a horse

2

a

: to undo the knotted parts of

untied her scarf

b

: to straighten out : resolve

untie a traffic jam

3

: to become loosened or unbound

the strings untied easily