tighten the noose
idiom
: to make a situation more difficult for someone
The new tougher penalties will tighten the noose on traffic offenders.
They tightened the noose around the enemy by cutting the supply lines.
Examples of tighten the noose in a Sentence
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But Fain is directing the strike to proceed in stages, starting today with three plants and then spreading over time to more, to tighten the noose slowly on recalcitrant management.
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Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
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Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Tighten the noose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tighten%20the%20noose. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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