tighten up

phrasal verb

tightened up; tightening up; tightens up

: to become more strict or effective or to make (something) more strict or effective

Security around the building has tightened up recently.

They tightened up security around the building.

Examples of tighten up in a Sentence

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On the other hand: The Buccaneers gave up 14.1 first-half points per game this year, more than any team other than Carolina, before tightening up to 7.9 second-half points per game, second-best in the NFL. —

Jordan Brenner, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025 The plan is to tighten up the fenders, bring down the weight to 1,540 lb (698 kg), achieve a mind-blowing 8,820 lb (4,000 kg) of downforce, and hit peak output figures of 1,500-1,600 hp. —

New Atlas, 2 Jan. 2025 Yale-Loehr also noted that recent changes have given U.S. immigration officials greater authority to tighten up the H-1B program, including imposing penalties and inspections. —

Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024 Such discussions are unfolding around the country after Mr. Trump won back the White House promising to curb immigration and tighten up border security. —

Tim Arango, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tighten up