taut

• taght, tacht (Scotland)

From Middle English taught, toȝt (“tight, distended”), probably past participle of towen, toȝen (“to tow, pull”). Cognate with Scots tacht (“taut”).

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• enPR: tôt, IPA^(key): /tɔːt/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: tät, IPA^(key): /tɑt/
• Rhymes: -ɔːt
• Homophones: taught, tort (in non-rhotic accents), tot (with cot-caught merger)

taut (comparative tauter, superlative tautest)

1. Tight; under tension, as it were a rope or bow string.

   Synonyms: rigid, tight

   • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     The hawser was as taut as a bowstring - so strong she pulled upon her anchor.

2. (figuratively) Experiencing stress or anxiety.

   Synonyms: tense, strained

   • 1989 Faye Kellerman, The Quality of Mercy

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

3. Containing only relevant parts, brief and controlled.

   Synonyms: concise, crisp, terse, tight

   • 1991 February 14, Peter Travers, “The Silence of the Lambs [film review]”, in Rolling Stone‎, archived from the original on 5 December 2017:

     The superbly crafted suspense thriller that director Jonathan Demme has made from Thomas Harris's taut best-selling novel The Silence of the Lambs slams you like a sudden blast of bone-chilling, pulse-pounding terror.

   • 2007 Milton C. Sernett, Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory and History

     Quick action and dialogue create a taut story, although it is illustration that shapes the characters.

   • 2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The A.V. Club‎:

     Guitarist Jade Puget and vocalist Davey Havok have distilled AFI’s strengths (a ferocious, post-hardcore rhythmic backbone; goth-tinctured, post-punky guitars; and Havok’s desperate, dramatic croon) into 14 taut, hook-driven songs.

4. (oenology) Strong; uncompromising.
   • 2018 March 8, Eric Asimov, “Bubbles, With Joy: Pétillant Naturel’s Triumphant Return”, in The New York Times‎:

     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.

• tense

• untaut

• Ta Tu, Ta-tu, tatu

taut

1. Nominative plural form of tau.

• Tatu, tuta

• Rhymes: -aʊ̯t

taut

1. Third-person singular present of tauen.
2. Second-person plural present of tauen.
3. Imperative plural of tauen.

tau +‎ -t

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɒut]
• Hyphenation: ta‧ut

taut

1. accusative singular of tau

• IPA^(key): /tʰøyːt/
• Rhymes: -øyːt

taut n (genitive singular tauts, no plural)

1. muttering, mumbling

   Synonyms: tuldur, muldur, uml

• tauta (“to mutter”)

Related to Finnish taltta.

taut

1. chisel