taut / tôt/ • adj. stretched or pulled tight; not slack: the fabric stays taut without adhesive. ∎  (esp. of muscles or nerves) tense; not relaxed. ∎ fig. (of writing, music, etc.) concise and controlled: a taut text of only a hundred and twenty pages. ∎  (of a ship) having a disciplined and efficient crew.DERIVATIVES: taut·en / ˈtôtn/ v.taut·ly adv.taut·ness n.

taut †tense, distended XIV; tightly drawn XVII. For earlier taught, alt. of tought, ME. touht, toʒt, prob. identical with the common var. tought of TOUGH, with the sense influenced by assoc. with toʒ-, pp. stem of tee, OE. tēon draw, pull.