tighten up
tighten up · tightens up · tightened up · tightening up
To make sufficiently tightTo make sufficiently tight.
» Some bolts need to be tightened up.
Meaning
5 senses(transitive)To make sufficiently tight.
(transitive)To fix something or make it correct.
(intransitive)To become tense and restrained.
(intransitive, transitive)To become, or make, more stringent and ungenerous.
(intransitive)To become focused and serious; to stop any vacillation or inconsistency.
More definitions
- severely restrict in scope or extent
Examples
4 sentencesSome bolts need to be tightened up.
Tighten up the knot.
ruЗатяни узел потуже. — marafon
Yanni tightened up the screws.
To tighten up the rules is one thing, but to comply with them quite another.
Forms
tightens up, tightening up, tightened up, tightened up| Base form | tighten up · to tighten up |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | tightens up |
| Present participle | tightening up |
| Past simple | tightened up |
| Past participle | tightened up |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
3 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb