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tighten

[ tahyt-n ]

/ ˈtaɪt n /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tighten ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become tight or tighter.

Origin of tighten

First recorded in 1720–30; tight + -en¹

SYNONYMS FOR tighten

secure, anchor, fasten.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tighten ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM tighten

tight·en·er, noun o·ver·tight·en, verb re·tight·en, verb self-tight·en·ing, adjective

un·tight·en, verb (used with object)

Words nearby tighten

tight-knit, tight-lipped, tight-money policy, tight-mouthed, tightass, tighten, tighten one's belt, tighten the screws, tightfisted, tightfitting, tightknit

Example sentences from the Web for tighten

Some media reports say Turkey has begun recently to tighten some controls in the border region.

Is NATO Ally Turkey Tacitly Fueling the ISIS War Machine? |Thomas Seibert |September 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Democrats want to tighten disclosure laws (as with the proposed DISCLOSE Act) but have blocked raising contribution limits.

The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics |Jonathan Rauch |April 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Congress passed the Helms–Burton Act to tighten the sanctions regime and write it into the law.

Obama Should End America’s Stupidest Foreign Policy: Isolating Cuba |Robert Shrum |February 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Operations were slowed so a team of eight technicians could shimmy up the ship to tighten up the cables.

The Raising of the Concordia |Barbie Latza Nadeau |September 17, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

And so efforts will be made to tighten that language up a bit.

Is Rubio Trapped on Immigration Reform? |Michael Tomasky |May 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
I let go the gig's gunwale and watched her tighten her sheet and make a tack or two to windward.

The Riddle of the Sands |Erskine Childers
Thus far do I give an answer to Envy; tighten the reins with more vigour, and speed onward, Poet, in thy circle.

Remedia A Moris or, The Remedy Of Love |Ovid
It will come very quietly and gently, and tighten about nations as lightly as a spiders web; and then there will be revolutions!

The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2 |Elizabeth Bisland
Would it tighten with sufficient rapidity to choke a cry for help?

The Day of Wrath |Louis Tracy
Remove when time is up, tighten covers, and invert to test seal.

New Royal Cook Book |Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for tighten

tighten

/ (ˈtaɪtən) /

verb

to make or become tight or tighter

tighten one's belt to economize

Derived forms of tighten

tightener, noun