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

While the consistency of his defense needs to tighten up before the start of a long 82-game season, his offense looks ready-made to contribute early. — Nick Friedell, New York Times, 24 July 2026

The Transportation Department said that truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year, as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased. — Josh Funk, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Smart Skincare Swaps at CVS One of my 2026 goals was to tighten up my budget. — Shea Simmons, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026

Hopefully the show’s creators and writers will spend at least a little more time in the gap to tighten up the scripts. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026

Rhymes for tighten up

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