adj

• (also figuratively) Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
  "The hawser was as taut as a bowstring, and the current so strong she pulled upon her anchor. All around the hull, in the blackness, the rippling current bubbled and chattered like a little mountain stream."
• (of a body, muscles, etc.) Not flabby; firm, toned; (of a person) having a lean, strong body.
  "I watched him from the side as he strode along. His walk was quite different; his face too looked tauter."
• (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."
• (figuratively) Experiencing anxiety or stress.
  "His outward appearance was calm, but inside he was very taut."

verb

• (transitive) 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 the other fastened to a "dead man" or other suitable anchorage planted in the bank of the pit opposite the dumping point."