How to Use tighten up in a Sentence

tighten up

phrasal verb
Definition of tighten upnext
  • There’s a lot for Williams and the offense as a whole to tighten up and improve.
    — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 11 Aug. 2024
  • 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
  • So, her first instinct was to tighten up and be prepared.
    — Danielle Bacher, People.com, 10 Dec. 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 coaching staff would tell you the offense needs to get better in every regard, and there is a lot to tighten up.
    — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 23 Oct. 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 | [email protected], 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 | [email protected], al, 3 Sep. 2023
  • Then, Ryan felt his forearm tighten up after the third inning.
    — Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
  • 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
  • Polling tightened up toward the end of Kelly's race for governor, too.
    — Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Oct. 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
  • The Gators tightened up on defense in the second half and dominated inside.
    — Mark Long, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 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
  • UConn tightened up in the third quarter, forcing the Minutemen to punt from end zone three straight times and was able to take advantage of the field position and take control of the game.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 1 Dec. 2024
  • Players recognized there were things that needed to be tightened up.
    — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 29 Nov. 2024
  • Last two pitches, really started to tighten up on me a little bit.
    — Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 10 Aug. 2024
  • 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
  • The Fox crew would also get an idea of what mechanics Brady needs to tighten up after seeing his performance in what would amount to a dress rehearsal.
    — Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2024
  • 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

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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