Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tightener

/ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.09 in modern English

Syllables: tight-en-er
IPA: /ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something used to tighten.

noun

A large meal; a feast or blowout.

British usage; Archaic; Slang

Example Sentences

"184?, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor One proposed going to Hungerford-market to do a feed on decayed shrimps or other offal laying about the market; another proposed going to Covent-garden to do a 'tightener' of rotten oranges, to which I was humorously invited; […]"
"Now a belt like this is a great saving to a man inasmuch as he can save many a meal by wearing it; all you have to do if you want to save a meal is to buckle in a hole or two tighter, and you will feel as if you have had a tightener and will not miss your dinner for that day."

Etymology

From tighten + -er. Referring to a meal, suggests the tightening of one's belt around the expanding waistline.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: tighten

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/
British English: /ˈtaɪtn̩ə/

Usage

British usage
Archaic
Slang

Inflected Forms

tighteners (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce tightener?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/.
What does tightener mean?: Something used to tighten.
Where does tightener come from?: From tighten + -er. Referring to a meal, suggests the tightening of one's belt around the expanding waistline.

How to pronounce tightener

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tightener”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tightener”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tightener” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.