- stiffen something up
- stiffen something up†to make something rigid or tense. •
He added a little starch to the rinse water to stiffen his collars up a bit.
•The cold draft has stiffened up my neck.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
stiffen something up
Look at other dictionaries:
stiffen — [[t]stɪ̱f(ə)n[/t]] stiffens, stiffening, stiffened 1) VERB If you stiffen, you stop moving and stand or sit with muscles that are suddenly tense, for example because you feel afraid or angry. Ada stiffened at the sound of his voice... The father… … English dictionary
stiffen — UK [ˈstɪf(ə)n] / US verb Word forms stiffen : present tense I/you/we/they stiffen he/she/it stiffens present participle stiffening past tense stiffened past participle stiffened 1) [intransitive] to suddenly hold your body in a stiff way, often… … English dictionary
stiffen — stiff|en [ stıfn ] verb 1. ) intransitive to suddenly hold your body in a stiff way, often because you become nervous, worried, angry, or unfriendly: She stiffened as the footsteps came closer and closer. stiffen with/in: He stiffened with rage.… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
stiffen — stiff|en [ˈstıfən] v 1.) if you stiffen, your body suddenly becomes firm, straight, or still because you feel angry or anxious ≠ ↑relax ▪ He touched her, and she stiffened. 2.) [I and T] to become stronger, more severe, or more determined, or to… … Dictionary of contemporary English
stiffen — [ˈstɪf(ə)n] verb 1) [I] to suddenly hold your body in a stiff way, often because you are afraid or angry 2) [I/T] to become stiff, or to make something stiff … Dictionary for writing and speaking English
bracing — [1] To stiffen something by using a brace. [2] A brace. See cross bracing … Dictionary of automotive terms
tighten up — verb restrict (Freq. 1) Tighten the rules stiffen the regulations • Syn: ↑stiffen, ↑tighten, ↑constrain • Hypernyms: ↑restrict, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
brace — 1 verb 1 (T) to prepare for something unpleasant that is going to happen: brace yourself for: Nancy braced herself for the inevitable arguments. | brace yourself to do: Jean, you d better brace yourself to hear bad news. | be braced for: The… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
Bathos — is from the Greek , meaning depth . As used in English it originally referred to a particular type of bad poetry, but it is now used more broadly to cover any ridiculous artwork or performance. More strictly speaking, bathos is unintended humor… … Wikipedia
Mountain boarding — Mountainboarding, also known as dirtboarding or all terrain boarding (ATB), is a well established extreme sport, derived from snowboarding. Riders take to the hills of their local venue. Some may also take advantage of ski resorts. Riding a lift… … Wikipedia
set — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. place, put, station; arrange, prepare; establish; mount; adjust, regulate; fix, assign, appoint; plant, set out; overthrow, unsettle; sink, go down; solidify, jell, harden; start out. See location,… … English dictionary for students
