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to tighten up

to tighten up

9 4.4
To make rules or limits stricter
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈtaɪtən ʌp/
  • Informal
translation icon : endurecer
  • Plenty of companies have already had to tighten up costs starting around 2007-2008 (remember George W. Bush and the economic collapse?)
  • tighten up security
  • tighten up the borders
  • tighten up procedures

But overall, the entire mortgage industry is tightening up, which is this like the worst time for this to happen?

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Examples

  • Ofsted is to press ahead with plans to tighten up the assessment of children's services.

    Academic text (2009)
  • So if you don't tighten up codes and regulations, then you really aren't going to get to energy efficiency in a reasonable way.

  • So we want to tighten up the laws and, and, and and, and not, you know, allow that escape out to be present.

  • I do agree that the administration needs to tighten up big style, but I think we need to give it some more time.

    Blog text (23)
  • Have you read about how all companies have had to tighten up their operations to survive?

    Blog text (28)
  • Perhaps a better solution is to tighten up the rules against abusive debt collection (as many observed above).

    Blog text (6)
  • If folks are abusing tax deductions, there's a much simpler remedy available: amend the tax code to tighten up the deduction.

    Blog text (24)
  • The government announced that they will tighten up regulations on air quality to reduce pollution.

  • After the recent scandal, the committee decided to tighten up their policies regarding financial disclosures.

  • In response to increasing complaints, management plans to tighten up the rules about employee conduct.

Synonyms

to tighten
vsto tighten up
93 3.5

To make rules or limits stricter

is the same action but often said with an added informal word
to stiffen
vsto tighten up
1 4.8

To make a rule or law stricter

is about increasing harshness or severity rather than narrowing scope
to retighten
vsto tighten up
5.3

Make rules or limits stricter again after they are relaxed

is the first increase in strictness rather than a repeated action

Antonyms

26 3.2

To make rules less strict

How Strict

to crack down
63 3.8
to clamp down
18 4.2
to tighten up
  • Informal
9 4.4
to relax
26 3.2

Surface Forms

tighten up infinitive
tightened up past participle
tightening up present participle
tightens up third person singular

Morphology

tighten + up

The verb 'tighten' already means to make more strict and the particle 'up' contributes an intensifying/increasing sense, so the combined meaning 'make rules or controls more severe' is transparently derivable from the parts. This standard V+particle composition (verb + intensifier) is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Tighten up comes from the simple image of tighten a belt or a rope and up meaning to make it firmer and remove slack. You picture pulling things so they stay in place, and that's why it means 'make rules or controls stricter'.