English · Idiom Candidate

tie someone's hands

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To limit or restrict someone's ability to act

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

giới hạn hoặc hạn chế khả năng hành động của ai đó

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: binding someone's hands

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The company's policies tie my hands when it comes to making decisions

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Topics: Hands

Common questions

What does “tie someone's hands” mean?

To limit or restrict someone's ability to act Literally: binding someone's hands

Is “tie someone's hands” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time