zip tie, n.

zip-tie
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zip-tie_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2021

# zip tienoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zip tie mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zip tie. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in U.S. English.

### How common is the noun zip tie?

About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English

2017 | 0.16
2018 | 0.16
2019 | 0.22
2020 | 0.24
2021 | 0.26
2022 | 0.27
2023 | 0.3
2024 | 0.24

### How is the noun zip tie pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪp tʌɪ/
ZIP tigh

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɪp ˌtaɪ/
ZIP tigh

### Where does the noun zip tie come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the noun zip tie is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zip tie is from 1969, in Modern Packaging.

zip tie is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zip n.1, tie n.

### Nearby entries

1. zipperhead, n. 1967–
2. zipper problem, n. 1985–
3. Zippie, n.¹ 1968–
4. zippie, n.² 1986–
5. zippily, adv. 1924–
6. zippiness, n. 1907–
7. zipping, n. 1868–
8. Zippo, n.¹ 1944–
9. zippo, n.² 1973–
10. zippy, adj. 1889–
11. zip tie, n.1969–
12. zip-tie, v. 1985–
13. zip top, n. 1926–
14. zip-up, adj. & n. 1927–
15. zip wire, n. 1971–
16. zir, pron. 1993–
17. zir, adj. 1993–
18. ziraleet, n. 1794–
19. ziram, n. 1950–
20. zirbal, adj.?a1425–
21. zirbus, n. a1400–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
< zip n.1 + tie n.

## Meaning & use

U.S.

1. 1.
   1969–
   A type of detachable fastening for a bin bag or refuse bag. rare.
   1. 1969

      > Armin Ties It All Up with the New ‘Zip 'N Tie’ Poly Refuse-Bags... The ‘zip-tie’ is part of the bag—just rip it off and tie—no strings—no extra tie twists.

      Modern Packaging December 142/1 (advertisement)
   U.S. English
   1. tie Old English–
      That with which anything is tied; a cord, band, or the like, used for fastening something; a knot, noose, or ligature; a natural formation of this…
   2. bond a1325–1674
      Formerly more generally, ‘string, band, tie’.
   3. tying 1548–
      concrete. Something used for tying; something that ties, binds, or connects; a tie. ? Obsolete.
   4. tial 1549–
      That with which something is tied; a rope, cord, string, or thread. Now northern dialect (see Eng. Dial. Dict.).
   5. tier 1845–
      Something that ties or is used for tying; a band; spec. one for tying a sail; plural = tie-up, n. I.4.
   6. zip tie 1969–
      A type of detachable fastening for a bin bag or refuse bag. rare.
   7. zip tie 1983–
      A fastener consisting of a thin, flexible nylon strap with a notched surface, which is secured by feeding one end through a locking mechanism at the…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1983–
   A fastener consisting of a thin, flexible nylon strap with a notched surface, which is secured by feeding one end through a locking mechanism at the other to form a loop; spec. a fastener of this type forming two loops and used as handcuffs (see zip cuff n.).
   1. 1983

      > Zip Ties. These wonderful little strips of plastic come in several lengths.

      Frets (California) June 29/1
   2. 1991

      > He manacled my wrists with a large plastic zip tie.

      M. O'Callaghan, Set-up iii. 23
   3. 2001

      > Use zip-ties to neatly secure the wires, and make certain they are kept away from gears.

      Radio Control Car Action June 169/2
   4. 2012

      > Maureen..was facedown on the floor, her hands and feet bound with zip ties.

      G. C. Kenry, Survival Methods & Mating Rituals of Men & Marine Mammals xlv. 437
   U.S. English
   1. tie Old English–
      That with which anything is tied; a cord, band, or the like, used for fastening something; a knot, noose, or ligature; a natural formation of this…
   2. bond a1325–1674
      Formerly more generally, ‘string, band, tie’.
   3. tying 1548–
      concrete. Something used for tying; something that ties, binds, or connects; a tie. ? Obsolete.
   4. tial 1549–
      That with which something is tied; a rope, cord, string, or thread. Now northern dialect (see Eng. Dial. Dict.).
   5. tier 1845–
      Something that ties or is used for tying; a band; spec. one for tying a sail; plural = tie-up, n. I.4.
   6. zip tie 1969–
      A type of detachable fastening for a bin bag or refuse bag. rare.
   7. zip tie 1983–
      A fastener consisting of a thin, flexible nylon strap with a notched surface, which is secured by feeding one end through a locking mechanism at the…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. cops Old English–1200
      A shackle for any part of the body; a fetter (Old English fót-cops), manacle (hand-cops), or collar (sweor-cops), to secure a prisoner. Obsolete.
   2. manacle c1350–
      Usually in plural. A fetter for the hand; (more generally) a shackle.
   3. handlock 1532–
      A lockable metal ring used to secure the wrist of a prisoner to someone or something; a manacle, a handcuff; (in plural) a linked pair of these…
   4. hand-bolt 1563–
      A handcuff. Frequently in plural. Also figurative.
   5. handbinder 1585–
      a. A device for binding a person's hands, a fetter or handcuff; b. a device to assist in binding grain by hand; c. a person who binds books by hand.
   6. handcuff 1649–
      A lockable restraint consisting of a ring, typically made of metal and one of a pair joined by a short chain or bar, which can secure both a…
   7. cuff 1663–
      A fetter for the wrist, a handcuff, n.
   8. Darbies 1673–
      plural. Handcuffs: sometimes also, fetters. slang.
   9. glim-fenders 1699–
      Andirons; also punningly, handcuffs.
   10. shackle-bolt 1706–
       dialect. A handcuff.
   11. government securities 1707–
       a. = government paper, n.; †b. slang handcuffs; fetters (obsolete).
   12. pinion 1736–
       A manacle, a fetter. rare.
   13. ruffles 1776–
       In plural. slang. Handcuffs. Now rare.
   14. bracelet 1817–
       A fetter for the wrist, a gyve, hand-cuff.
   15. nippers 1821–
       In plural. slang. Handcuffs (see also quot. 1982).
   16. handicuff 1825–
       = handcuff, n.
   17. shangy 1839–
       A shackle; plural handcuffs.
   18. snitchers 1860–
       plural. Strings used by the police in place of handcuffs. Scottish.
   19. come-along 1874–
       North American colloquial. In plural. A type of manacle or handcuff. Now historical.
   20. shackle-irons 1876–
       Hand-cuffs.
   21. mitten 1880–
       slang. Now rare. (a) (In plural) handcuffs; (b) a hand or fist (usually in plural); (c) a boxing glove (usually in plural).
   22. wristlet 1881–
       A handcuff, a wrist-iron.
   23. snaps 1891–
       plural. Hand-cuffs. slang.
   24. snips 1891–
       plural. Handcuffs. slang.
   25. stringers 1893–
       plural. Handcuffs. slang.
   26. twister 1910–
       One who or that which turns about, turns from side to side, rotates, etc. A type of handcuff (see quot. 1939).
   27. zip tie 1983–
       A fastener consisting of a thin, flexible nylon strap with a notched surface, which is secured by feeding one end through a locking mechanism at the…
   28. zip cuff 1995–
       Usually in plural. A fastener used as handcuffs, consisting of a thin, flexible nylon strap with a notched surface that is shaped to form two…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪp tʌɪ/
ZIP tigh

### U.S. English

/ˈzɪp ˌtaɪ/
ZIP tigh

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zip tie typically occurs about 0.2 times per million words in modern written English.

zip tie is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zip tie, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.16
2018 | 0.16
2019 | 0.22
2020 | 0.24
2021 | 0.26
2022 | 0.27
2023 | 0.3
2024 | 0.24

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zip-tie, v. 1985–
   transitive. To fasten or secure (something) with…

Originally published as part of the entry for zip, int. & n.¹

zip tie, n. was first published in March 2021.

zip tie, n. was last modified in July 2023.