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
In any event, one thing is clear after this experiment: there are too many max contracts circulating around the NBA world right now, and teams need to tighten up their spending.
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Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Florida, Washington and New Jersey tightened up requirements for new drivers in 2025, but even these new laws have inconsistent requirements.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 20 July 2025
Vientos felt an abdominal muscle tighten up Friday afternoon before the Mets started a series against the defending World Series champs.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 24 May 2025
The dough requires no resting as there’s no gluten in it to tighten up.
—Kat Lieu, Saveur, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tighten up
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Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Florida, Washington and New Jersey tightened up requirements for new drivers in 2025, but even these new laws have inconsistent requirements.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 20 July 2025
Vientos felt an abdominal muscle tighten up Friday afternoon before the Mets started a series against the defending World Series champs.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 24 May 2025
The dough requires no resting as there’s no gluten in it to tighten up.
—Kat Lieu, Saveur, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tighten up
Cite this Entry
“Tighten up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tighten%20up. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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