# tighten

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈtaɪ.tən/ · frequency rank #14,854

## Definitions
1. To make tighter.
2. To become tighter.
3. To make money harder to borrow or obtain.
4. To raise short-term interest rates.

## Etymology
Synchronically equivalent to tight + -en, but actually derived from Middle English tighten, from Old English tyhtan, thus originally unrelated to tight (Old English *þiht).

## Easily confused with
- **tights** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tighten-vs-tights)
- **tightly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tighten-vs-tightly)
- **tighter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tighten-vs-tighter)
- **titan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tighten-vs-titan)
- **tight** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tight-vs-tighten)

## Common misspellings (11)
`itghten`, `tgihten`, `tigghten`, `tighetn`, `tighhten`, `tightenn`, `tightne`, `tightten`, `tigthen`, `tihgten`, `ttighten`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tighten