Definition of tautennext
as in to tighten
to draw tight he tautened the rope and then tied it off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tauten From that queasiness comes bristly tension, tautening and deepening what otherwise seems a low-key, low-stakes character study, and eventually a sweet, conciliatory sliver of hope too. Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Feb. 2023 Pimples pop, pupils dilate, tendons tauten, and breathing gets so shallow that people fall into respiratory acidosis. John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 20 Apr. 2022 Those systems use hydraulics or electromagnetic fluids to soften or tauten the ride. Jack Stewart, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2018 BMW’s adaptive dampers stifle road imperfections and tauten the 5 Series for hard cornering. Miles Branman, Orange County Register, 26 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tauten
Verb
  • Dwindling enrollment tightened the budget by $89 million halfway through this school year when the purse was already $100 million thinner than last school year.
    Natalie La Roche Pietri, Miami Herald, 16 May 2026
  • The best accommodations don’t last on the market for long, and by the time peak summer rolls around, availability tightens fast.
    Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • Instead, he was intrigued by a scene in which Back visibly tensed up after the producers told him he was suspected of being Satoshi.
    Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The slope down to the sidewalk was barely an inch high, but everyone tensed.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 1 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tauten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tauten. Accessed 23 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster