tauten
/ˈtɔtən/
verb
- To make or become tight or stretched.
- The skin on her face began to tauten as the cream dried.
- The sail will tauten when the wind picks up.
- He had to tauten the rope before tying the knot.
- To make something more strict, tense, or controlled (figurative).
- Security measures were tautened after the incident.
- She tautened her grip on the steering wheel as the road got icy.
- The manager tried to tauten the schedule to meet the deadline.