tauten

verb

taut·​en ˈtȯ-tᵊn How to pronounce tauten (audio)
tautened; tautening ˈtȯt-niŋ How to pronounce tauten (audio)
ˈtȯ-tᵊn-iŋ

transitive verb

: to make taut
tauten the rope

intransitive verb

: to become taut

Examples of tauten in a Sentence

The wire tautened as they pulled on it. he tautened the rope and then tied it off
Recent Examples on the Web From that queasiness comes bristly tension, tautening and deepening what otherwise seems a low-key, low-stakes character study, and eventually a sweet, conciliatory sliver of hope too. Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Feb. 2023 Pimples pop, pupils dilate, tendons tauten, and breathing gets so shallow that people fall into respiratory acidosis. John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 20 Apr. 2022 Those systems use hydraulics or electromagnetic fluids to soften or tauten the ride. Jack Stewart, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2018 BMW’s adaptive dampers stifle road imperfections and tauten the 5 Series for hard cornering. Miles Branman, Orange County Register, 26 Feb. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tauten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of tauten was in 1777

Dictionary Entries Near tauten

Cite this Entry

“Tauten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tauten. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!