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

Lending tightened up drastically after the bubble burst, and later, policies enacted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic gave homeowners some grace in paying their mortgage during a difficult time. —Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 9 June 2026

Kennywood is tightening up its chaperone policy for the summer, soon requiring all kids 15 years and under to be accompanied by a supervising adult 21 or older. —Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 8 June 2026

Then came the hook left through Massenet, the track opening up and allowing D’Cruze to put a bit more power down before dipping right into Casino Square, where the track tightened up again. —Luke Smith, New York Times, 6 June 2026

Mejuri has also been tightening up its operations due to the changing times. —Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 26 May 2026

Rhymes for tighten up

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