taut
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taut
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /toːt/ Australia, British, New Zealand
- /tɔt/ US
- /tɑt/ US, cot caught merger
- /tɔt/ Scotland
Sounds like taught, tort (non-rhotic), tot (cot–caught merger) · Rhymes with -ɔːt
Where it comes from
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.
adjective tauter · tautest
- Of a body, muscle, etc., not flabby; firm, toned. I watched him from the side as he strode along. His walk was quite different; his face too looked tauter.
- Of a person, having a lean, strong body.
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Of music, writing, etc., containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled.
If he curbs his swing a little and gets something crisper and tauter in his methods he may yet be very good.
Similar: concise, crisp, terse, tight, brief, laconic, lapidary, short-winded, succinct, to the point, taut · Opposite: circumlocutory, diffuse, periphrastic, palaverous, pleonastic, prolix, rigmarole, sesquipedalian, verbose, wordy
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Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
The pressure pad which holds the film taut as it passes the reproducing light beam must apply just the right amount of pressure.
Similar: nonslack, stretched, tense, tensioned · Opposite: untaut, free, loose, unfastened, unsecured, unstapled
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Experiencing anxiety or stress.
His outward appearance was calm, but inside he was very taut.
Similar: nonrelaxed, strained, tense, unrelaxed
- Of a sailor, ship, etc., neat and well-disciplined. [O]ur friend was a hearty toper in the days of his Whiggery, but no sooner turned one of the tautest of Tories, than he took to the tea-pot. It seems a thing against nature.
- Efficient and in order.
- Strong; uncompromising. Yet the 2016 Éxilé rosé from Lise et Bertrand Jousset in the Loire Valley, made mostly of gamay, was yeasty let light and lithe, while the 2016 Indigeno from Ancarani in Emilia-Romagna, made of trebbiano, was taut and earthy.
Similar: nonslack, strained, stretched, strict, taut, tense, tensioned, tight · Opposite: flaccid, floppy, lank, lax, limp, loose, lush, relaxed, sagging, slack, untaut
verb tauts · tauting · tauted
- To make taut; to tauten, to tighten. The machine is operated by a double friction drum hoist. From the rear drum a steel cable, called the tension cable, leads to a set of fall blocks attached to the mast pole. These blocks afford a means for slackening and tauting the track cable, one end of which is supported by the fall blocks and t
Thesaurus
Translations
Every language
adj of a body, muscles, etc.: not flabby; firm, toned
| Italiano | tonico |
|---|
adj of a person: having a lean, strong body
| Русский | подтянутый podtjanutyj |
|---|
adj containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled
| Español | conciso |
|---|---|
| Português | conciso |
| Français | concis |
| Italiano | conciso |
adj under tension
| Español | tenso, tirante, templado, tensionado, tensado, tiesto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 張っている hatte iru |
| Português | tenso, teso, esticado, retesado |
| Français | tendu, contracté |
| Deutsch | gespannt |
| Italiano | teso, tirato |
| Русский | натя́нутый natjánutyj, напряжённый naprjažónnyj, туго́й tugój |
adj experiencing anxiety or stress
| Español | tenso |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 緊張している kinchō shite iru |
| Português | tenso |
| Français | tendu, stressé, anxieux |
| Deutsch | angespannt |
| Italiano | teso, tirato, ansioso, nervoso, agitato |
| Русский | напряжённый naprjažónnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | căng thẳng |
adj (oenology) strong; uncompromising
| Español | fuerte |
|---|
Talk about this word "taut." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/taut. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. taut. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/taut "taut." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/taut.Cite this
@misc{taut_2026,
title = {taut},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/taut},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
