straiten

STRAITEN, verb transitive 1. To make narrow.In narrow circuit, straitend by a foe.2. To contract; to confine; as, to straiten the British commerce.3. To make tense or tight; as, to straiten a cord.4. To distress; to perplex; to press with poverty or other necessity; as, a man straitened in his circumstances.5. To press by want of sufficient room.Waters when straitened, as at the falls of bridges, give a roaring noise