tighten up

phrasal 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

Their challenge will be improving consistency—especially on the road—while tightening up their defense and rebound margins. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2025

The dough will tighten up into a round. —Katie Parla, Saveur, 30 Oct. 2025

But there is a sense that these great rivals are more evenly matched this time around, with Xabi Alonso’s arrival helping to tighten up a Madrid side who still look just as devastating up top. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

Putting it all together My e-tourer arrived mostly assembled – though the handlebar, pedals, saddle, front light, display and quick-release front wheel needed installing, along with the front fender, plus some tightening up here and there had to be done. —New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for tighten up

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