tighten

verb

USTY-tuhn/ˈtaɪ.tən/

4 meanings of tighten

1
verbtransitive
To make something firmer, more taut, or more secure, typically by pulling or turning.
Tighten the bolts evenly so the wheel sits flush against the hub.
He tightened the straps on his backpack before the climb.
Similarsecure, fasten, tauten, cinch
Oppositeloosen, slacken, undo, release
Note
A verb that looks like tight plus -en but did not start out that way. It comes from Middle English tighten and Old English tyhtan, a word originally unrelated to tight, whose own Old English form was *þiht. The two only became a pair later. The thing pulled or turned is the object: a screw, a strap, or, in Francis Fawkes's 1760 Anacreon, a horse's "tighten'd rein."
2
verbintransitive
To grow firmer, more taut, or more constricted without outside force applied directly.
As the temperature drops, metal cables tighten and creak through the night.
Her chest tightened with fear when the lights suddenly went out.
Similartense, constrict, contract, stiffen, tauten
Oppositeloosen, relax, slacken
3
verbtransitive
To restrict the supply of money or credit so that it becomes harder to borrow or obtain.
Policymakers may need to tighten the money supply again before the housing bubble grows any larger.
Lenders tightened their standards sharply after the financial crisis.
Similarrestrict, curb, squeeze, limit
Oppositeloosen, ease, relax
Note
In economics the money itself becomes the object. Governments tighten the money supply, and lenders tighten their standards, and in both cases borrowing gets harder. The physical picture of a cord drawn in still shows through. Keep this sense distinct from the interest-rate sense. That one can stand without any object at all, while this one names what is being restricted.
4
verbintransitive
To raise short-term interest rates, usually as a deliberate central bank action.
Central banks tighten by lifting the overnight lending rate.
The committee tightened twice this year, each time raising the benchmark rate.
Oppositeease, loosen
Note
Central-bank shorthand: the subject is the bank or its committee, and the verb stands alone, with the interest rate understood rather than stated. The size of the move follows by, as in tightening by a quarter-point. The aim behind it is to lift overnight funding costs, carry higher yields through the money markets, and so restrain demand.

Practice

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Origin

Although it now seems to be simply 'tight' plus the suffix '-en', the word actually derives from Middle English tighten, from Old English tyhtan, and so was originally unrelated to 'tight' (Old English *þiht).