tense
verb/tens/
/tens/
[transitive, intransitive]Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they tense | /tens/ /tens/ |
| he / she / it tenses | /ˈtensɪz/ /ˈtensɪz/ |
| past simple tensed | /tenst/ /tenst/ |
| past participle tensed | /tenst/ /tenst/ |
| -ing form tensing | /ˈtensɪŋ/ /ˈtensɪŋ/ |
- if you tense your muscles, or you or your muscles tense, they become tight and stiff, especially because you are not relaxed
- tense something/yourself (up) She tensed her muscles in anticipation of the blow.
- He tensed himself, listening to see if anyone had followed him.
- Expecting a blow, she tensed every muscle in her body.
- tense (up) His muscles tensed as he got ready to run.
- She tensed, hearing the strange noise again.
Word Originverb late 17th cent.: from Latin tensus ‘stretched’, from the verb tendere.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See tense in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe/get tensed up
- to become or feel nervous or worried so that you cannot relax
- I was so tensed up during the flight.
Check pronunciation:
tense