tighten

/ˈtaɪtn/

/ˈtaɪtɪn/

Other forms: tightened; tightening; tightens

To tighten something is to draw it snug or squeeze it. Your cousin's crazy driving may cause you to tighten your seatbelt and close your eyes.

You can tighten things literally, the way you tighten the lid of a jar or tighten your hold on your best friend's hand as you enter a haunted house together. There's also a figurative way to tighten, like when a library tightens its rules about talking or a restrictive government tightens control over what newspapers are allowed to print. Before tighten appeared in the 18th century, the verb was tight.

Definitions of tighten

1. verb

   make tight or tighter
   “Tighten the wire”

   synonyms: fasten

   types:

   frap

   take up the slack of

   firm, tauten

   make taut or tauter

   screw

   tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions

   wind, wind up

   coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
2. verb

   become tight or tighter
   “The rope tightened”

   types:

   constrict, constringe, narrow

   become tight or as if tight

   firm, tauten

   become taut or tauter

   compact, compress, constrict, contract, press, squeeze

   squeeze or press together

   strain, tense

   become stretched or tense or taut

   choke, strangle

   constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing

   prim

   contract one's lips

   astringe

   become constricted or compressed

   strangulate

   become constricted

   astringe

   constrict or bind or draw together

   strangulate

   constrict a hollow organ or vessel so as to stop the flow of blood or air

   convulse

   contract involuntarily, as in a spasm

   convulse

   cause to contract

   bear down, overbear

   contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery

   choke, fret, gag

   be too tight; rub or press

   choke, scrag

   wring the neck of

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
3. verb

   restrict
   “Tighten the rules”

   synonyms: constrain, stiffen, tighten up

   type of:

   bound, confine, limit, restrain, restrict, throttle, trammel

   place limits on (extent or access)
4. verb

   narrow or limit
   synonyms: reduce

   type of:

   bound, confine, limit, restrain, restrict, throttle, trammel

   place limits on (extent or access)