Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use tighten in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Tighten means to make tighter. Example: “Please tighten that screw a quarter-turn.”

Examples of tighten by meaning

verbTo make tighter.

  • Please tighten that screw a quarter-turn.

verbTo become tighter.

  • That joint is tightening as the wood dries.

verbTo make money harder to borrow or obtain.

  • If the government doesn't tighten the money supply, inflation is certain to be harsh.

verbTo raise short-term interest rates.

  • The Fed is expected to tighten by a quarter-point.

More sentences with tighten

  • Don't tighten that bolt any more or you'll strip the thread.From the entry strip
  • I have tightened the loose bolt that was the culprit; it should work now.From the entry culprit
  • See if that nut has too much looseness and tighten it if it does.From the entry looseness
  • The engine had self-sealing gaskets to keep the grease in, just tighten the bolts.From the entry self-sealing
  • In the current crisis, we will have to tighten our belts.From the entry tighten one's belt
  • Hey, hand me the whatitsname, will you? I need to tighten the doodah on this thingummybob.From the entry whatsitsname
  • Rotate the bolt to the right to tighten it.From the entry right
  • The relaxed rules were greatly tightened after the lawsuit.From the entry relaxed
  • In the hours before daylight he sharpened the skids and tightened the lashings to prepare for the long dogsled journey.From the entry skid
  • She hitched her jeans up and then tightened her belt.From the entry hitch
  • Insert all the bolts loosely, then tighten them.From the entry loosely
  • Berganza said ChatGPT appeared to have tightened restrictions on what images users were allowed to Ghiblify.2025 March 27, Madison Malone Kircher, “People Love Studio Ghibli. But Should They Be Able to Recreate It?”, in The New York Times, New…. From the entry ChatGPT
  • Shift the chain to the inner ring, and then tighten one of the limit screws.2024, Lennard Zinn, Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 6th edition, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 81. From the entry limit screw
  • The legislation also tightens the share of unused exemptions states can carry over from year to year.2023 June 2, Tami Luhby, “Here’s who would have to work for government benefits – and who wouldn’t – under the debt ceiling package”, in CNN. From the entry unused
  • Argentina tightened currency controls late Sunday after the opposition’s Alberto Fernandez won the presidential elections.2019 October 28, Jorgelina Do Rosario, Carolina Millan, “Argentina Tightens Currency Controls After Fernandez Victory”, in Bloomberg. From the entry currency control
  • At that moment, I heard a cry from behind the tightening ring.2013, Radmer Lenasch, Paper Samurai, page 149. From the entry voetsek
  • The pixane collar tightened again, and I yanked at it, needing more air than it would allow.2013, Mysti Parker, Hearts in Exile, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 87. From the entry pixane
  • "This heats the tissue, causing the collagen to tighten and, over time, to produce more collagen."2011 September 7, Claire Coleman, “Ugly knees: The curse of the kninkles”, in The Courier-Mail, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024. From the entry kninkles
  • He could feel himself tighten up as he prepared himself to ask her.2008, William Moran, Alj, →ISBN, page 104. From the entry tighten up
  • I would sure up my mannerisms, tighten up the looseness in my arms and wrists.2007, Jim Tushinski, Jim Van Buskirk, Identity envy: wanting to be who we're not, page 73. From the entry sure up
  • I tightened on the reins, aware of the other runners and riders on either side of me.2006, Kevin Kiely, A horse called El Dorado, Dublin: O'Brien, →ISBN, page 134. From the entry runners and riders
  • Refining his focus from Third World countries in general to Cyprus in particular has tightened Hulusi’s practice.2006, Emily Speers Mears, “Mustafa Hulusi”, in Bidoun: A Quarterly Forum for Middle Eastern Talent, number 7 (Tourism), archived from the…. From the entry dilettanteishly
  • Are you going to tone your arms, build a six pack or tighten up the old rump?2005, Les Hewitt, The Power of Focus for College Students, page 133. From the entry six-pack
  • The end game of a release (“productionizing”) sees a tightening up of the feedback cycle.2000, Kent Beck, Erich Gamma, Extreme Programming Explained, Addison-Wesley Professional, →ISBN, page 134. From the entry productionize
  • You have to visually determine the mid-range position and then tighten the outlane post.1998, Walter Day, Twin Galaxies' official video game and pinball book of world records. From the entry outlane
  • More and more people went to the scaffold as the Terror tightened its grip.1998, Nigel Kelly, Rosemary Rees, Jane Shuter, Britain 1750-1900, page 83. From the entry go to the scaffold
  • The tang button tightened on the blade tang , thus securing the entire assembled hilt .1995, John R. Angolia, In the Service of the Reich: Diplomatic & Government Officials, German Red Cross, R James Bender Pub. From the entry tang button
  • Then they tightened the latigos on their horses and mounted up.1994, Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing. From the entry latigo
  • Then tighten the drawbolt one additional turn to make the punch bite into the metal.1987, Robert J. Rechs, Build Your Own Hot-Air Balloon, page 143. From the entry drawbolt
  • Tighten screw to permit a very slight overshift of lever to rear.1971, Chilton's Auto Repair Manual, 1940-1953, page 624. From the entry overshift
  • His expression had not changed one iota except perhaps for an additional tightening of his lips.1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 99. From the entry iota
  • The blockade was tightened, and Father was stranded in Shanghai for weeks.1953, John C. Caldwell, China Coast Family, Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 185. From the entry Futsing
  • And some Asian countries are tightening their immigration laws.2021 March 15, Jessie Yeung, “These Asian countries are giving dual citizens an ultimatum on nationality – and loyalty”, in CNN, archived…. From the entry Asian
  • The shackles of CSR have now been tightened by the concept of ESG (Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance).2021 January 5, Peter Foster, “Peter Foster: Sustainable Newspeak by 2050”, in Financial Post. From the entry CSR
  • She nodded every so often, glanced at Henry, tightened her viced hand around Ernest's, and then listened some more.2016, P. C Dettmann, Ernest Zevon. From the entry viced
  • Now tighten the three 13mm bolts so the outer cam pulley is locked back to the inner pulley.2016 May 17, ct.p, “PD150 cambelt change, different to 1.8t?”, in UK-MKIVs.net. From the entry cock on

Meaning of tighten

  1. verb To make tighter.
  2. verb To become tighter.
  3. verb To make money harder to borrow or obtain.

Full definition of tighten

Questions about tighten in a sentence

How do you use tighten in a sentence?
Tighten is used as a verb. For example: “Please tighten that screw a quarter-turn.”
What is a short sentence with tighten?
“Please tighten that screw a quarter-turn.”
What does tighten mean?
Tighten means to make tighter.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tighten (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use tighten in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/tighten. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.