Tighten
['taɪt(ə)n] or ['taɪtn]
Definition
(verb.) become tight or tighter; 'The rope tightened'.
(verb.) make tight or tighter; 'Tighten the wire'.
Edited by Constantine--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To draw tighter; to straiten; to make more close in any manner.
Editor: Orville
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Make tight.
Typed by Gus
Examples
- And with that I commenced to bend him back across my knee and tighten my grip upon his throat. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Robert Jordan felt Maria's hand on his arm and felt her fingers tighten with delight. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Ropes were then put about the neck, with a slipnoose which would tighten around the throat if pulled. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Gudrun saw Gerald's body tighten, saw a sharp blindness come into his eyes. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Suppose that while one were bearing on pretty hard with a well-tightened string, in order to bring fire quickly, the point of the spindle should slip from its block. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Now you have tightened your garters, the gypsy said approvingly. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- She stopped for a moment, her arms tightened over her bosom, and she laughed to herself--a hard, harsh, angry laugh. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Then his finger tightened on the trigger. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- After a darkening hour or so, suddenly the rudder-lines tightened in his hold, and he steered hard towards the Surrey shore. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Wemmick tightened his post-office and shook his head, as if his opinion were dead against any fatal weakness of that sort. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Her cheek grew burning hot against my neck, and her arms trembled and tightened round me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- She stood up also, her lips tightening under a rapid frown. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Rouse the _Teniente-Coronel_, I say, Gomez said and Andreu Nin saw his mouth tightening. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- In the construction of long wire fences provision must be made for tightening the wire in summer, otherwise great sagging would occur. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The lever which threw the former friction gear into adjustment was made to operate an idler pulley for tightening the axle-belt. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- I felt Miss Halcombe's hand again, tightening its hold on my arm--I raised my head and looked at her. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- They say it winds round the lungs, and tightens them up. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
Edited by Everett