tighten

Also found in: Thesaurus, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

tight·en

(tīt′n)

tr. & intr.v. tight·ened, tight·en·ing, tight·ens

To make or become tight or tighter.

tight′en·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tighten

(ˈtaɪtən)

1. to make or become tight or tighter

2. tighten one's belt to economize

ˈtightener n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tight•en

(ˈtaɪt n)

v.t., v.i.

to make or become tight or tighter.

Idioms:

tighten one's belt, to respond to hardship by reducing expenditures.

[1720–30]

tight′en•er, n.

tighten

Past participle: tightened
Gerund: tightening

Imperative
tighten
tighten

Present
I tighten
you tighten
he/she/it tightens
we tighten
you tighten
they tighten

Preterite
I tightened
you tightened
he/she/it tightened
we tightened
you tightened
they tightened

Present Continuous
I am tightening
you are tightening
he/she/it is tightening
we are tightening
you are tightening
they are tightening

Present Perfect
I have tightened
you have tightened
he/she/it has tightened
we have tightened
you have tightened
they have tightened

Past Continuous
I was tightening
you were tightening
he/she/it was tightening
we were tightening
you were tightening
they were tightening

Past Perfect
I had tightened
you had tightened
he/she/it had tightened
we had tightened
you had tightened
they had tightened

Future
I will tighten
you will tighten
he/she/it will tighten
we will tighten
you will tighten
they will tighten

Future Perfect
I will have tightened
you will have tightened
he/she/it will have tightened
we will have tightened
you will have tightened
they will have tightened

Future Continuous
I will be tightening
you will be tightening
he/she/it will be tightening
we will be tightening
you will be tightening
they will be tightening

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been tightening
you have been tightening
he/she/it has been tightening
we have been tightening
you have been tightening
they have been tightening

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been tightening
you will have been tightening
he/she/it will have been tightening
we will have been tightening
you will have been tightening
they will have been tightening

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been tightening
you had been tightening
he/she/it had been tightening
we had been tightening
you had been tightening
they had been tightening

Conditional
I would tighten
you would tighten
he/she/it would tighten
we would tighten
you would tighten
they would tighten

Past Conditional
I would have tightened
you would have tightened
he/she/it would have tightened
we would have tightened
you would have tightened
they would have tightened

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	tighten - make tight or tighter; "Tighten the wire" fasten alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" frap - take up the slack of; "frap a rope" firm, tauten - make taut or tauter; "tauten a rope" screw - tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions; "Screw the bottle cap on" wind up, wind - coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem; "wind your watch"
	2.	tighten - become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened" change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" constringe, constrict, narrow - become tight or as if tight; "Her throat constricted" firm, tauten - become taut or tauter; "Your muscles will firm when you exercise regularly"; "the rope tautened" constrict, compress, contract, compact, press, squeeze - squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle" tense, strain - become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"
	3.	tighten - restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" tighten up, constrain, stiffen confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"
	4.	tighten - narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" reduce confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"

tighten

verb

1. close, narrow, strengthen, squeeze, harden, constrict He answered by tightening his grip on her shoulder.
close slacken, ease off, let out

2. stretch, strain, tense, tauten, stiffen, rigidify He flung his whole weight back, tightening the rope.
stretch relax, loosen, slacken, weaken

3. fasten, secure, screw, fix I used my thumbnail to tighten the screw.
fasten unscrew, unfasten, unbind

4. contract, narrow, constrict, become tight, become narrow Her throat had tightened and she couldn't speak.

5. purse, narrow, compress, screw up, pucker Martha tightened her lips and shook her head.

6. increase, heighten, toughen (up), beef up (informal), crank up (informal), scale up, make stricter, make more rigorous They have tightened security along the border.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

tighten

verb

1. To make or become tight or tighter:

reinforce, strengthen.

2. To make or become tense:

stiffen, tauten, tense.

Translations

يَشُد، يُحْكِم الإغْلاقيُضَيِّقُ

těsnitzesílit

stramme

anziehen festigen festziehen

σφίγγω

apretar tensar ajustar estrechar hacer más severo

kiristää

serrer tendre bander raidir remonter

zategnuti

megszorít

òétta, herîa

stringere teso tirare astringere fisso

締める

단단히 죄다

tesniťutesniť

pritegnitizadrgniti

dra åt

ทำให้แน่นหรือตึงขึ้น

gerginleş meksıkılamaksıkış mak

thắt chặt

弄紧绷紧

tighten

[ˈtaɪtn]

A. VT (also tighten up) [+ rope] → estirar, tensar; [+ nut, belt, shoes] → apretar; [+ regulations] → hacer más severo; [+ restrictions, discipline, security] → reforzar

B. VI (also tighten up) [rope, knot] → estirarse; [skin] → ponerse tirante; [grasp] → apretarse

tighten up

A. VT + ADV

1. = tighten A

2. to tighten up on sth → ser más estricto con algo
they have decided to tighten up on this type of import → han decidido controlar más este tipo de importaciones

B. VI + ADV = tighten B

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

tighten

[ˈtaɪt^ən]

(= make firmer) [+ rope] → tendre; [+ screw] → resserrer; [+ grip, hold] → resserrer

(= make stricter) [+ control] → renforcer; [+ security] → renforcer; [+ rule] → renforcer

vi [fingers, grip] → se resserrer; [rope, chain] → se tendre

tighten up

(= make firmer) [+ screw, knot] → resserrer

(= make stricter) [+ rules, security] → renforcertight end n (US) → ailier m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tighten

(also tighten up)

knot → fester machen, anziehen; screw → anziehen; (= re-tighten) → nachziehen; muscles → anspannen; lips → verkneifen; rope → straffen, anziehen; (= stretch tighter) → straffer spannen; to tighten one’s grip (lit) → fester zugreifen; (fig) → die Schraube fester ziehen; to tighten one’s grip on something (lit) → etw fester halten; (fig) → etw besser unter Kontrolle bringen; to tighten the steering in a car → die Lenkung an einem Auto nachziehen

(fig) rules, security, control, law, procedures, restrictions → verschärfen; to tighten the screw on something/a country → den Druck auf etw (acc) → /ein Land verstärken ? belt

vi (rope) → sich spannen, sich straffen; (knot) → sich zusammenziehen; whenever he’s angry his mouth tightens → immer wenn er wütend ist, wird sein Mund schmal und verkniffen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

tighten

[ˈtaɪtn]

1. vt (also tighten up) (gen) → stringere; (rope) → tendere; (regulation) → rendere più severo/a; (control) → intensificare
to tighten one's belt (fig) → tirare la cinghia

2. vi (also tighten up) → stringersi; (rope) → tendersi; (grasp) → farsi più stretto/a

tighten up

1. vi + adv

a. = tighten 2

b. to tighten up on sth → rendere qc più severo/a

2. vt + adv = tighten 1

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

tight

(tait) adjective

1. fitting very or too closely. I couldn't open the box because the lid was too tight; My trousers are too tight.

2. stretched to a great extent; not loose. He made sure that the ropes were tight.

3. (of control etc) strict and very careful. She keeps (a) tight control over her emotions.

4. not allowing much time. We hope to finish this next week but the schedule's a bit tight.

adverb

(also ˈtightly) closely; with no extra room or space. The bags were packed tight / tightly packed.

-tight sealed so as to keep (something) in or out, as in airtight, *watertight

ˈtighten verb

to make or become tight or tighter.

ˈtightness noun

tights noun plural

a close-fitting (usually nylon or woollen) garment covering the feet, legs and body to the waist. She bought three pairs of tights.

ˌtight-ˈfisted adjective

mean and ungenerous with money. a tight-fisted employer.

ˈtightrope noun

a tightly-stretched rope or wire on which acrobats balance.

a tight corner/spot

a difficult position or situation. His refusal to help put her in a tight corner/spot.

tighten one's belt

to make sacrifices and reduce one's standard of living. If the economy gets worse, we shall just have to tighten our belts.

tighten

→ يُضَيِّقُ zesílit stramme festziehen σφίγγω apretar kiristää serrer zategnuti stringere 締める 단단히 죄다 aanhalen stramme zacisnąć apertar затягивать dra åt ทำให้แน่นหรือตึงขึ้น sıkılamak thắt chặt 弄紧

tighten

vt. apretar, ajustar.

Could you tighten my bindings, please? (US)
Can you tighten my bindings, please? (UK) → Kan De stramme mine bindinger? → Kunt u mijn bindingen vastmaken? → 请帮我把鞋套扎紧吧

References in classic literature ?

Wingrave felt his companion's grasp tighten upon his arm; a flash of light upon the pale features and staring eyes of the young man a few feet off, showed him to be in the act of intercepting them.

View in context

Well, then, all this that I put before thee is but an incentive and stimulant to my spirit, making my heart burst in my bosom through eagerness to engage in this adventure, arduous as it promises to be; therefore tighten Rocinante's girths a little, and God be with thee; wait for me here three days and no more, and if in that time I come not back, thou canst return to our village, and thence, to do me a favour and a service, thou wilt go to El Toboso, where thou shalt say to my incomparable lady Dulcinea that her captive knight hath died in attempting things that might make him worthy of being called hers."

View in context

The lioness had taken but half her second bound when she felt the rope tighten about her neck; her body turned completely over in the air and she fell with a heavy crash upon her back.

View in context

Amid renewed growling and another futile attempt to free himself, Numa was finally forced to submit to the further indignity of having a rope secured about his neck; but this time it was no noose that might tighten and strangle him; but a bowline knot, which does not tighten or slip under strain.

View in context

It was the practice of our venerable ancestors to apply that ingenious instrument the thumb-screw, and to tighten and tighten it in order to elicit non-existent facts; they had a fixed opinion to begin with, that the facts were existent, and what had they to do but to tighten the thumb-screw?

View in context

It suffocated them, and with eyes shut they tightened their grasp.

View in context

Her hand tightened round my arm, and she looked anxiously at the gate before us.

View in context

But to his surprise the rope tightened around his neck, shutting off his breath.

View in context

Then, when he had worked Taug to such a pitch of foaming rage that the great bull fairly danced upon the bending limb beneath him, Tarzan's hand shot suddenly outward, a widening noose dropped swiftly through the air, there was a quick jerk as it settled about Taug, falling to his knees, a jerk that tightened it securely about the hairy legs of the anthropoid.

View in context

Then he thought he felt that hair twining round his fingers; and then, that it slid smoothly round his neck, and tightened and tightened, and he could not draw his breath; and then he thought voices whispered to him,--whispers that chilled him with horror.

View in context

The men rapidly picked out their horses in the semidarkness, tightened their saddle girths, and formed companies.

View in context

After ten hopeless minutes of it, Daylight slipped off and tightened the martingale, whereupon Bob gave an exhibition of angelic goodness.