1) Become taut or tauter 2) Become tense 3) Decrease play 4) Firm 5) Get more rigid 6) Get tight 7) Give less slack 8) Grow tense 9) Lose slack 10) Make taut or tauter 11) Make tight 12) Pull on a rope 13) Pull tight 14) Remove slack from 15) Remove the slack 16) Take out slack 17) Take out the slack 1) Tighten 
[v] - become taut or tauter 2. [v] - make taut or tauter