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Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber. The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a fatal paleness was upon her. Goldsmith. -- Tense"ly, adv. -- Tense"ness, n.

livery of the thread in a sewing machine, so as to give the stitch the required degree of tightness.

Tight; nimble. [Obs.] Of a good stirring strain too, she goes tith. Beau. & Fl.

Tightly; nimbly. [Obs.] "I have seen him trip it tithly." Beau. & Fl.

Stretched tight; taut. [R.] Yet holds he them with tortestrein. Emerson.

consists essentially of a pad or compress upon which pressure is made by a band which is tightened by a screw or other means.

double elastic fiber. The spider holds the thread at the apex of the web and stretches it tight, but lets go and springs the net when an insect comes in contact with it.

is well shaped and firm; his dress is trim when it fits closely to his body, and appears tight and snug; a man or a soldier is trim when he stands erect. With comely carriage of her countenance trim. Spenser. So deemed I till I viewed their trim array Of boats last night. Trench.

o truss a person or one's self, to adjust and fasten the clothing of; especially, to draw tight and tie the laces of garments. [Obs.] "Enter Honeysuckle, in his nightcap, trussing himself." J. Webster (1607). -- To truss up, to strain; to make close or tight. -- Trussed beam, a beam which is stiffened by a system of…

A loop or sleeve with a screw thread at one end and a swivel at the other, -- used for tightening a rod, stay, etc.

A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. J. H. Walsh.

s accomplished by heating the articles to be galvanized together with zinc dust in an air tight receptacle to a temperature of about 600º F., which is 188º below the melting point of zinc, or by exposing the articles to vapor from molten zinc in a separate receptacle, using hydrogen or other reducing gas to prevent oxi…

urse; to turn; to wear; as, to veer, or wear, a vessel. To veer and haul (Naut.), to pull tight and slacken alternately. Totten. -- To veer away or out (Naut.), to let out; to slacken and let run; to pay out; as, to veer away the cable; to veer out a rope.

A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water for the preservation of fish alive while they are transported to market.

r fourscore years." Dryden. "Thus they wound up his temper to a pitch." Atterbury. (d) To tighten (the strings) of a musical instrument, so as to tune it. "Wind up the slackened strings of thy lute." Waller.

A stick used to tighten the rope in woolding.

ded so as to be equivalent to a wrench. Carriage wrench, a wrench adapted for removing or tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles, or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or wagon. -- Monkey wrench. See under Monkey. -- Wrench hammer, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit of being…