Definition of "tying up" []

• The act of securing an arriving vessel with ropes (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Sarah Gay finished tying up her work with deft fingers."
• "Four shadowy figures were tying up their bedrolls and gathering gear, while seven other man-sized lumps lay on the floor with Mero, snoring in their blankets."
• "You keep tying up all of these loose ends, scolded the parsimonious part of Miles's mind, and you'll end up in the poorhouse."