tighten up

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

The unit has tightened up in recent weeks, allowing 12, 20 and 8 points to Fort Worth Carter-Riverside, Benbrook and Western Hills, respectively. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026

And Patrick Paul, who was flagged for holding three times last week, has struggled adjusting to Miami’s new blocking technique and needs to tighten up the seams on his performance. — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

The Rams will need to tighten up the special teams that unraveled in Philadelphia a year ago and gave up field-position leaks that let the Broncos climb back into last week’s game. — Nate Atkins, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

And in China, Hill noted the progress the new leadership team has made over the past six months, and detailed plans to tighten up the region’s digital channels and refresh physical doors. — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for tighten up

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