tauten C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process US /ˈtɔtn/ UK /ˈtɔːtn/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to make or become tight or tense He pulled the rope until it began to tauten across the deck. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to make or become tight or... tightenstretchtensestiffenstrain ↔ Opposites loosenslackenrelaxslack Word family Derived forms tautenedtautening Related forms tauttautness Etymology AI details From taut + -en. Taut is from Middle English tought, taught ('tight, distended'), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to tow or tough. tought Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # tauten **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈtɔtn/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtɔːtn/ ## Meanings 1. to make or become tight or tense ## Examples - He pulled the rope until it began to tauten across the deck. ## Synonyms - tighten - stretch - tense - stiffen - strain ## Antonyms - loosen - slacken - relax - slack ## Derived Forms - tautened - tautening ## Related Forms - taut - tautness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: tought ## Etymology From taut + -en. Taut is from Middle English tought, taught ('tight, distended'), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to tow or tough. ## AI Etymology Tauten is from taut + -en. Taut is from Middle English tought, taught ('tight, distended'), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to tow or tough. Important recorded forms include tought (Middle English). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The wording preserves that uncertainty: the older history is best read as a cautious account rather than a fully settled chain. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers to make or become tight or tense. The wider family includes derived forms such as tautened and tautening and related words such as taut and tautness. ## Topics - Cause, Change & Process - Actions & Processes - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown