How to Use tighten up in a Sentence

tighten up

phrasal verb
  • But since then, firms have taken more steps to tighten up their rules.
    Gillian Tan, Fortune, 22 May 2024
  • One more slow start and the Heat might tighten up beyond repair.
    Tara Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2023
  • Largo tightened up its zone defense and the Bears just couldn’t find an answer.
    Mike Frainie, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2024
  • So, her first instinct was to tighten up and be prepared.
    Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2024
  • The caffeine in coffee tightens up the blood-brain barrier and can decrease how much of the drug makes it to your brain.
    Courtney Southwick, Health, 23 July 2024
  • The Lynx tightened up its defense to slow down the Mercury’s ball movement and the team only made two on 11 attempts in the second half.
    Jenna Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 26 May 2023
  • But the message from Dutcher during a timeout was, ahem, to tighten up the defense.
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2024
  • When Thorne first joined forces with Hewlett, the focus was on tightening up some of his mechanics.
    Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Then Oettinger tightened up, and the top line responded.
    Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 12 May 2023
  • The win was dominant across the board, but there were still areas the Crimson Tide could stand to tighten up before Texas comes to Tuscaloosa next week.
    Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2023
  • More commonly known as a charley horse, a nighttime leg cramp is when the muscles in a leg quickly tighten up.
    Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 4 Feb. 2024
  • The team has spent the past three weeks working out the kinks, tightening up holes on the defensive side, and bolstering its roster.
    Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Another Reddit poster suggests there may be a cat and mouse game behind the scenes as Google tightens up.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Can’t give up both The Suns have tried to tighten up giving up points in the paint with ball containment, gap control and creating a tighter shell on that end.
    Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 8 Jan. 2024
  • In Game 2, Florida’s defense tightened up and limited the Oilers from getting good looks for most of the night.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 June 2024
  • With the exception of my tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscle tightening up and the nagging cold, the rest of my body felt okay.
    Michael Clinton, Men's Health, 14 June 2023
  • His forearm tightened up while warming up before the fourth inning.
    Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023
  • As the game wore on, both defense and midfield units tightened up and several players on each side battled cramping.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2023
  • And Shanahan’s propensity to tighten up in big moments — to become even more conservative when the game is one the line — can’t be ignored.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2024
  • Instead, prepare to tighten up your remote or hybrid work policies because the practice is here to stay.
    Byamber Burton, Fortune, 6 July 2023
  • Keep your glutes engaged, and tighten up your core by thinking about squeezing your belly button back towards your spine.
    Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Texas scored two runs in the first to tie the game on a Adolis Garcia home run — his first of three on Saturday night — then plated five runs in the second, four in the third and two in the fifth to give Heaney plenty of room to tighten up.
    Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2023
  • Things feel a bit sweaty and effortful, especially in the early going — not the finest quality in a farce, though the cast may well settle into the show and tighten up its rhythms.
    Trey Graham, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Ohtani is expected back in the lineup Monday, needing just a one-day break after his back tightened up on him Saturday night.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
  • The defense that's been devastated by injuries at linebacker and safety has forced six turnovers over the same span, tightening up when there was no other choice.
    Will Graves, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024
  • This positioning can tighten up your quads, hip flexors, neck, and shoulders.
    Jenny McCoy, SELF, 11 July 2023
  • That may be giving employers more leverage to tighten up their policies around remote work.
    Mike Rogoway | Mrogoway@oregonian.com, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Participate, get moving, highlight health and tighten up your routine to capture what keeps you in shape and looking and feeling your best.
    Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 20 June 2024
  • The letter, in essence, is seeking to tighten up and expedite the first version of an accountability system.
    Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Sykes will be a bigger challenge to contain on the dribble, and tightening up defensive sets was a point of focus for Connecticut in their lone pregame practice.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 22 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tighten up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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