Meaning & use
close ties
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Meanings
phraseplural
Strong personal or official connections between people, groups, or countries.
Grammar: Always plural in this meaning; you say have close ties with someone, not have a close tie with someone.
Patterns
- have close ties with someone
- maintain close ties to something
- close ties between two groups
She still has close ties with her old school friends.
The company maintains close ties to the local university.
Close ties between the two countries have lasted for decades.
phraseplural
Strong links between ideas, events, or things that are connected.
Grammar: Used about abstract connections, often with between or to.
Patterns
- close ties between two things
- close ties to a tradition
There are close ties between the town's history and its yearly festival.
The music has close ties to the songs his grandmother sang.
Common combinations
- have close ties with
- Many immigrants have close ties with family back home.
- maintain close ties
- The charity maintains close ties with local businesses.
- close ties between
- Close ties between the two clubs go back fifty years.
- strengthen close ties
- The visit helped strengthen close ties between the neighbors.
- cut close ties
- After the argument, he cut close ties with his former partner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strong links
- Very similar, but links can also be physical or logical, while ties usually suggest loyalty or emotional connection.
- connections
- More general and neutral; connections can be weak or brief, whereas close ties are deep and lasting.
- bonds
- Suggests an emotional hold, like family bonds; close ties is more neutral and can describe organizations too.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: close ties or close-minded? close ties or closed ties?
close ties vs close-minded
Do not confuse close ties with close-minded, which means unwilling to consider new ideas.
close ties vs closed ties
Closed ties is not a standard phrase; closed describes something shut, while close (pronounced /kloʊs/) means near or strong here.
Practice
The two universities have maintained close ___ since the 1980s.
Choose one answer.
The plural noun ties fits the fixed phrase maintain close ties. Tie (singular) is not used in this phrase, tying is a verb form, and tied is a verb or adjective, so none of them can follow close here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “close ties”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.