taut

CEFRB2

/tɔːt/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Pulled tight and not loose.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled.

Examples

  • The hairs on the violin bow should not be too taut.

  • Keep the rope taut.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /toːt/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Not flabby; firm, toned; (of a person) having a lean, strong body.

  2. Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.

  3. Experiencing anxiety or stress.

More examples

In context

  • 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.

  • His outward appearance was calm, but inside he was very taut.

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

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The climber pulled the rope until it was blank and ready for the heavy load.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The adjective is derived from Middle English taught [and other forms], Early Middle English tohte, towehte (“strained, stretched; distended; tight; firm”), probably from tough, touth, touʒth, toʒt (“powerful, strong; fierce, violent; not tender, tough; hardy, resilient; steadfast, stout; difficult to do or endure”) and possibly influenced by togen, towen, past participle of ten (“to extend, stretch out; to drag, haul, pull, tow, tug”) (modern English tee (“(obsolete) to draw, lead; to draw away; to go, proceed”)), or directly from its etymon Old English tēon (“to drag, draw, pull”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”)) The word may be related to thight (“(dialectal)...