Taut

/tɔːt/ · adjective

Meaning

(also figuratively) Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight..

Definitions by Sense

1. (also figuratively) Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
2. (of a body, muscles, etc.) Not flabby; firm, toned; (of a person) having a lean, strong body.
3. (of music, writing, etc.) Containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled.
4. (figuratively) Experiencing anxiety or stress.
5. (nautical, of a sailor, a ship, etc.) Neat and well-disciplined; (by extension) efficient and in order.
6. (wine) Strong; uncompromising.
7. (transitive) To make taut; to tauten, to tighten.

Example Sentences

The hawser was as taut as a bowstring, and the current so strong she pulled upon her anchor. All around the hull, in the blackness, the rippling current bubbled and chattered like a little mountain stream.

Every piece of binding is first carefully examined and tested; then it is put on, cautiously and accurately. Every turn is hauled taut, taking care that it is in its right place. [...] A sledge journey of the kind we had before us is a serious undertaking, and the work has to be done seriously.

After some moments of interchanging messages with the leaders on the platform, during which the suspense in the hall was tremendously taut, the police left saying that the women arrested would have to report themselves at Bow Street the following morning.

With an engine of the weight of a Garratt heading a long heavy coal train over such a road great skill in handling was necessary; not only by the enginemen but by the guard; the secret, of course, was to keep the couplings as taut as possible throughout the train to avoid severe "snatches".

The cord goes taut, tauter, tautest, till down she trips and Adam has a good laugh.

Lisa Jones – a woman in her thirties – sits cross-legged onstage, absent-mindedly tuning the high E-string on an acoustic guitar. She tunes the string up and up until it reaches the correct note – and then continues on past it. [...] Higher and higher the note, the string growing ever more taut, the fretboard beginning to tremble under the strain, the tension rising – but she still winds the tuning peg, up and up and up and up until … … the string snaps!

As Red played the intro, he allowed himself a passing glance at her. She was at the back of the crowd, face taut.

I watched him from the side as he strode along. His walk was quite different; his face too looked tauter.

Synonyms for taut

Antonyms for taut

Related Words

Word Forms

• tauter
• tautest
• tauts
• tauting
• tauted

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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