taut

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taut

trim; tidy; tense: She speaks in short, taut sentences.

Not to be confused with:

taught – past tense of teach: He taught me to sing.

taut

(tôt)

adj. taut·er, taut·est

a. Pulled or drawn tight; not slack. See Synonyms at tight.

b. Flexed or not loose: taut muscles.

c. Strained or tense: taut nerves.

a. Kept in good order; trim: a taut ship.

b. Marked by the efficient, sparing, or concise use of something, such as language or detail: a taut movie script.

[Middle English tohte, distended, perhaps ultimately from Old English togian, to drag; see tow¹.]

taut′ly adv.

taut′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

taut

(tɔːt)

adj

1. tightly stretched; tense

2. showing nervous strain; stressed

3. (Nautical Terms) chiefly nautical in good order; neat

[C14 tought; probably related to Old English togian to tow¹]

ˈtautly adv

ˈtautness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

taut

(tɔt)

adj. -er, -est.

1. tightly drawn; tense; not slack.

2. emotionally or mentally strained or tense: taut nerves.

3. in good order or condition; tidy; neat; trim.

[1275–1325; earlier taught, Middle English tought; akin to tow¹]

taut′ly, adv.

taut′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	taut - pulled or drawn tight; "taut sails"; "a tight drumhead"; "a tight rope" tight tense - taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings"
	2.	taut - subjected to great tension; stretched tight; "the skin of his face looked drawn and tight"; "her nerves were taut as the strings of a bow" tense - in or of a state of physical or nervous tension

taut

adjective

1. tense, rigid, tight, stressed, stretched, strained, flexed When muscles are taut or cold, there is more chance of injury.
tense relaxed, loose, slack

2. tight, stretched, rigid, tightly stretched The clothes line is pulled taut and secured.
tight relaxed, loose, slack

3. strained, stressed, tense, fraught, drawn, drained, sapped, uptight (informal) She started to lose the taut air of anxiety.

4. concise, terse, succinct, sharp, crisp, compact, pithy a taut thriller about the hijacking of a school bus

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

taut

adjective

1. Stretched tightly:

stiff, tense, tight.

2. In good order or clean condition:

neat, orderly, shipshape, snug, spick-and-span, spruce, tidy, trig, trim, well-groomed.

Chiefly British: tight.

Idiom: neat as a pin.

Translations

مُوَتَّر، مَشْدود، مَمْدود

napjatýnapínavý

stram

straff angespannt

jännitettykireätiukka

tendu

strekktur

teso

nostiegrotsnostiepts

napiętynaprężony

напряжённый натянутый

gergin

拉紧的

taut

[tɔːt] ADJ

1. (= tight) [rope] → tirante, tenso; [skin] → tirante
the rope is held taut by weights → la cuerda se mantiene tirante or tensa mediante unos pesos
to pull sth taut → tensar algo
to stretch sth taut → estirar algo hasta que quede tirante

2. (= tense) [person, face, voice] → tenso
their faces were taut with fear → tenían el rostro tenso por el miedo

3. (= firm) [body, legs] → firme, de carnes prietas; [muscles] → firme

4. (= tightly written) [novel, film] → compacto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

taut

[ˈtɔːt] adj

(= stretched tight) [wire, rope, muscles, skin] → tendu(e)

(= firm) [body] → ferme

(= strained) [expression, voice] → tendu(e)

taut

adj (+er)

rope → straff (gespannt); skin → straff; muscles → stramm, gestrafft; to hold something taut → etw straff halten; to be stretched taut → straff gespannt sein; to pull something taut → etw stramm ziehen; taut round thighs → pralle Oberschenkel pl

(fig: = tense) nerves, situation → (an)gespannt; person, voice → angespannt; look → gespannt; his face was taut with anger → sein Gesicht war vor Wut verzogen

(fig: = precise, economical) style, prose → knapp

(= lean) person → schlank; body → straff

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

taut

[tɔːt] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl))) (also) (fig) → teso/a

taut

(toːt) adjective

pulled tight. Keep the string taut while you tie a knot in it.

ˈtauten verb

to make or become taut. The ropes were tautened.

References in classic literature ?

Forty,--fifty,--sixty feet of line ran out, when Wolf Larsen cried "Belay!" Oofty-Oofty took a turn on a bitt, the rope tautened, and the Ghost, lunging onward, jerked the cook to the surface.

View in context

He shifted his feet slightly, tautened his muscles with a tentative pull, then relaxed again, questing for a perfect adjustment of all the levers of his body.

View in context

The Killer braced himself with the rope across his hip, and as the antelope tautened the singing strands in a last frantic bound for liberty he was thrown over upon his back.