# untie

> English word · Verb · IPA /ʌnˈtaɪ/ · frequency rank #52,701

## Definitions
1. To loosen, as something interlaced or knotted; to disengage the parts of.
2. To free from fastening or from restraint; to let loose; to unbind.
3. To resolve; to unfold; to clear.
4. To become untied or loosed.
5. In the Perl programming language, to undo the process of tying, so that a variable uses default instead of custom functionality.

## Etymology
From Middle English untien, unteyen, untyȝen, untiȝen, from Old English untīġan (“to untie”), equivalent to un- + tie.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/untie