tightening
noun [ S or U ]
uk/ˈtaɪtənɪŋ/ us ECONOMICS, BANKING, GOVERNMENT
the activity of limiting the amount of money that people and companies are able to borrow or spend, for example by increasing interest rates:
credit/fiscal/monetary tightening There is pressure on the Bank of England to increase the pace of monetary tightening.
A tightening of US monetary policy has always produced a major slowdown in the economy.
LAW, GOVERNMENT (also tightening up)
the action of making a rule, system, or law stronger and more difficult to ignore:
There has been a tightening of controls over domestic media and the internet.
The regulator is expected to announce a tightening up of the rules.
ECONOMICS, COMMERCE
a situation in a market where there is less of something available than is wanted or needed:
The supply and demand pendulum for some metals has swung so far that further tightening of the market seems inevitable.