tighten
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
tightens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tightened,
past participle, past
-
tightening
present participle
verb
-
to make or become tight or tighter
-
to economize
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
tightenernoun
-
overtightenverb
-
retightenverb
-
untightenverb (used with object)
-
self-tighteningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tightensimple
-
tightenssimple
-
have tightenedperfect
-
has tightenedperfect
-
am tighteningprogressive
-
are tighteningprogressive
-
is tighteningprogressive
-
have been tighteningperfect progressive
-
has been tighteningperfect progressive
Past
-
tightenedsimple
-
had tightenedperfect
-
was tighteningprogressive
-
were tighteningprogressive
-
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:
At the time, VMO2 called the BT takeover a "stitch-up", which allowed its rival "tighten its grip" over the market.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
SYDNEY—Australia’s consumer inflation remained elevated in September, backing the case for the central bank to tighten policy further next week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Still, she thought that most policymakers seemed keen to avoid moving too quickly, and may hold rates at this meeting, waiting to tighten the screws until the following meeting in early December.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
The idea is to tighten financial conditions enough to restrain inflation, which could eventually pressure equity prices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
Most people tighten up when they walk down Chestnut.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
Ugandans returning from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo will be quarantined for 21 days, the health ministry has said, as the country tightens restrictions to contain the spread of Ebola virus.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Hopefully when his right arm tightens up, he’ll step out of the box.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Once contraction begins, this network tightens inward and then returns to its original configuration.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
U.S. diesel prices are soaring once again as the squeeze in the fuels market tightens, breaching $6 a gallon for the first time on Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
She kneels on a cushion to pray, and a vice grip tightens around my heart.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
When Apple tightened its privacy rules in 2021, it made it harder for Facebook to track users across apps, something Meta estimated cost it $10 billion in lost revenue in 2022.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
“The 10-year OAT-Bund spread already tightened around 7 basis points both sides on Friday from above 170bp, levels only seen at the height of the sovereign debt crisis in 2011,” the rates strategist says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
If Warsh signals that financial conditions haven’t tightened enough, it could reinforce expectations for additional rate hikes, resulting in the market pricing in more rate hikes than expected, and interest rates rising.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
Raised eyebrows and brief eye closure increased perceptions of confidence, while lowered brows and tightened eyes suggested uncertainty or doubt.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
My hands tightened to keep him from dropping to the floor.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Many locations rolled out subsidies to attract data centers before the backlash and are now walking back some of those incentives and tightening their permitting process, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The combination of persistent inflation pressures and robust consumption should keep further monetary tightening on the agenda, with the December and February meetings potentially in play depending on incoming inflation data.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Barkin also supported moving slowing on tightening policy.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Warsh acknowledged that inflation remained too high, but noted that there were other signs - such as tightening credit conditions - that the economy was moving in the right direction.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
He looked forward again, his iron grip tightening.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
