tighten
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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tightens,
present (3rd person singular)
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tightened,
past participle, past
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tightening
present participle
verb
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to make or become tight or tighter
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to economize
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tightenernoun
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overtightenverb
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retightenverb
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untightenverb (used with object)
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self-tighteningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tightensimple
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tightenssimple
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have tightenedperfect
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has tightenedperfect
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am tighteningprogressive
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are tighteningprogressive
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is tighteningprogressive
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have been tighteningperfect progressive
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has been tighteningperfect progressive
Past
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tightenedsimple
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had tightenedperfect
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was tighteningprogressive
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were tighteningprogressive
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had been tighteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tighten
Explanation
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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Domestic demand remains weak, household debt is high and economic growth is below potential, limiting the scope for the central bank to tighten policy without putting additional pressure on the recovery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Both restrictions tighten if the rest of the industry follows suit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Watt added: "We have learned a lot over the past five years and continue to improve and tighten our investment processes along with stricter criteria for potential investments as set out in our investment strategy."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Authorities have vowed to tighten scrutiny of the island's tourists and crackdown on unruly foreigners.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Clues that tighten inside Axel’s gut, and this time, he knows for certain Daniel wouldn’t find it funny.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Now, it means showing up to support them as immigration enforcement tightens its grip.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Chinese firms are fundraising to secure computing power and Nvidia chips before the U.S. potentially tightens technology restrictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
In a tiny Tokyo restaurant filled with the smell of Nepalese dumplings, Budhathoki Samjhana surveys the business she built from scratch but may now have to give up as Japan tightens visa rules.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
In such a world, higher interest-rate volatility can be acceptable, as it tightens financial conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
The loop tightens and now I got my hands full, hanging on as the tail lashes back and forth.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
Last week Mr. Shapiro tightened the rules governing data-center development in his state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Over the years, however, Xu's taste for yachts and luxury clashed with President Xi Jinping's crackdown on extreme wealth as Beijing tightened its watch over corruption within the financial sector.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rushing said that Sunday was the first time he’d felt pain while throwing — “didn’t feel a pop or anything, but felt pretty serious as it kind of tightened up on me a little bit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Refined metal has repriced; approved wafer supply has tightened enough to turn a quarterly loss into an $11.1 million profit within a year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Ekon’s grip on his dagger tightened, and he braced himself.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Significantly, the number of workers who could arrive on a specialist health and care worker visa fell by 90% - following progressive tightening of that route.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The move runs directly counter to Warsh's statements on rising bond yields, which he described in July as a market reaction that was doing some of the financial tightening work for the Fed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Last month, he pointed to rising Treasury yields as evidence the bond market was tightening conditions on its own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Antonelli tightening his grip on the title by beating both his closest rivals.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
I took a breath and pushed myself forward through the open door, tightening my muscles as if ready for a battle.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
