idiom · neutral
tighten one's belt
/ˈtaɪtən wʌnz bɛlt/TIGHT·en one's BELT
speakingtask2
to reduce spending because of financial difficulty
Examples
“During the downturn, many families had to tighten their belts.”
“If we want to survive the next few months, we'll all need to tighten our belts.”
“The company tightened its belt by cutting bonuses.”
Band 8 sentence
“Faced with prolonged revenue losses, the firm tightened its belt, delaying non-essential projects and freezing hiring.”
Collocations
- tighten one's belt during a recession
- tighten the company's belt
Word family
tighten one's belt idiomtighten their belts idiom
Common mistakes
tighten the belt→tighten one's belt
Say it for a higher band
5spend less→6cut back on expenses→7+tighten one's belt
Synonyms
cut back on expenses
Easily confused
cut back on
“To save money, the family had to cut back on dining out.”
Related words
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