tighten the screws

idiom

informal

: to put more pressure on someone or something to do something

We need to tighten the screws on people who've been evading the tax.

Examples of tighten the screws in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The arrests of the prominent dissidents happen at a time discontent with the deteriorating economic situation on the island is high and Trump administration officials have vowed to implement policies to further tighten the screws on the regime to seek political change. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2025

Trump may seek to further tighten the screws on Russia's economy, in which inflation is rising and dollars are increasingly difficult and expensive to access. —David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2025

But Miami needs to find a run-stuffing inside linebacker who can help the defense tighten the screws. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025

If confirmed, as is widely expected, Rubio will be perfectly situated to further tighten the screws on Cuba perhaps to the island’s breaking point. —Patrick Oppmann, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024

Rhymes for tighten the screws

• hypotenuse
• accrues
• accuse
• aircrews
• amuse
• bamboos
• breakthroughs
• canoes
• cashews
• chartreuse
• confuse
• construes