tighten up

verb

tightened up; tightening up; tightens up

: to become more strict or effective or to make (something) more strict or effective

Security around the building has tightened up recently.

They tightened up security around the building.

Examples of tighten up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After Toronto’s Chris Rogers opened scoring just over a minute into the game, Dunkerley and the San Diego defense tightened up and the Seals took a 4-1 lead into halftime on two goals from Watson and goals scored by Connor Robinson and Tre LeClaire. —Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2026

That could play to Minnesota’s advantage and cause the Spurs to tighten up late in a close game. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 2 May 2026

If the Mammoth can stop getting caught puck-watching and tighten up a little more defensively, this could go seven games. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026

The legislation is the latest effort to tighten up how Congress polices itself. —Anna Liss-Roy The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 27 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for tighten up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup