tighten
verb /ˈtaɪtn/
/ˈtaɪtn/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they tighten | /ˈtaɪtn/ /ˈtaɪtn/ |
| he / she / it tightens | /ˈtaɪtnz/ /ˈtaɪtnz/ |
| past simple tightened | /ˈtaɪtnd/ /ˈtaɪtnd/ |
| past participle tightened | /ˈtaɪtnd/ /ˈtaɪtnd/ |
| -ing form tightening | /ˈtaɪtnɪŋ/ /ˈtaɪtnɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to hold or fix something more securely in position; to make something or become more difficult to move, open or separate
- tighten something to tighten a lid/screw/rope/knot
- She tightened her grip on his arm.
- The nuts weren't properly tightened and the wheel came off.
- tighten something up The brake cable needs tightening up.
- (+ adv./prep.) Her grip seemed to tighten on the door handle.
- He saw his father's jaw tighten in irritation.
Extra Examples- This tool is for tightening screws.
- Her fingers tightened convulsively with every jolt she received.
- His hand tightened painfully around her wrist.
- [transitive] tighten something to make something become stricter
- to tighten security
- The government is to tighten controls on the sale of alcohol.
- Steps were taken to tighten discipline in the school.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a little
- slightly
- etc.
- …
- seem to
- feel something
- make something
- …
- about
- around
- round
- …
- [intransitive, transitive] to become stretched so that it cannot stretch much further; to stretch or pull something in this way
- tighten (up) The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke.
- His mouth tightened into a thin line.
- tighten something She tightened the straps on her backpack.
- [intransitive] (of part of the body) to become painful or uncomfortable because of illness or emotion
- He felt his stomach tighten.
- Her face tightened with pain.
- His words made her throat tighten.
opposite loosen
Idioms
tighten your belt
- to spend less money because there is less available
- With price increases on most goods, everyone is having to tighten their belt.
- There is a need for further belt-tightening.
Synonyms savesave- budget
- economize
- tighten your belt
- save to keep money instead of spending it, often in order to buy a particular thing:
- I’m saving for a new car.
- budget to be careful about the amount of money you spend; to plan to spend an amount of money for a particular purpose:
- If we budget carefully we’ll be able to afford the trip.
- economize to use less money, time, etc. than you normally use
- tighten your belt (rather informal) to spend less money because there is less available:
- With the price increases, we are all having to tighten our belts.
- to save up/budget for something
- to have to save/budget/economize/tighten our belts
- to try to/manage to save/budget/economize