Link Centre Dictionary

taut

UK/tɔːt/ US/toːt/ uncommon

adjective

1.

pulled or drawn tight

  • “taut sails”
  • “a tight drumhead”
  • “a tight rope”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

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”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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) compact, dense; close-fitting, tight”) and tight; and is cognate with Scots tacht, taght (“taut”). The verb is probably derived from the adjective.

Phrases

  • run a taut ship
  • taut hand
  • taut-line hitch
  • tight ship

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.