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

With the roster rounding into form and the play around their goalies tightening up, the Oilers look like a juggernaut after their early scare against the Kings. —Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 15 May 2025

That’s particularly true for those of us who spend a big chunk of the day sitting, which tightens up the hips and back and encourages not-so-ideal posture. —Jenny McCoy, SELF, 1 May 2025

During warm ups yesterday before the 40, my right hamstring tightened up on me and prohibited me to opening up and running my fastest. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2025

Now is the moment to refresh and tighten up your application materials that have been gathering dust. —Julia Korn, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for tighten up

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