tight
Americanadjective
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firmly or closely fixed in place; not easily moved; secure.
a tight knot.
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drawn or stretched so as to be tense; taut.
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affording little or no extra room; fitting closely, especially too closely.
a tight collar.
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difficult to deal with or manage.
to be in a tight situation.
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of such close or compacted texture, or fitted together so closely, as to be impervious to water, air, steam, etc..
a good, tight roof.
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a tight style of writing.
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his tight control of the company.
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carefully arranged or organized and full; affording little leeway; packed.
a tight schedule.
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nearly even; close.
a tight race.
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Informal.
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close, as friends; familiar or intimate.
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united.
The strikers are tight in their refusal to accept the proposed contract.
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Your new place is tight!
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characterized by scarcity or eager demand; limited; restricted.
a tight job market;
tight money.
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Journalism. (of a newspaper) having more news available than is required for or utilizable in a particular issue.
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Baseball. inside.
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Scot. and North England. competent or skillful.
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neatly or well built or made.
adverb
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in a tight manner; closely; securely; tautly; firmly.
Shut the door tight.
The shirt fit tight across the shoulders.
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soundly or deeply.
to sleep tight.
idioms
adjective
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stretched or drawn so as not to be loose; taut
a tight cord
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fitting or covering in a close manner
a tight dress
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held, made, fixed, or closed firmly and securely
a tight knot
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of close and compact construction or organization, esp so as to be impervious to water, air, etc
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( in combination )
watertight
airtight
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unyielding or stringent
to keep a tight hold on resources
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cramped or constricted
a tight fit
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mean or miserly
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difficult and problematic
a tight situation
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hardly profitable
a tight bargain
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economics
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(of a commodity) difficult to obtain; in excess demand
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(of funds, money, etc) difficult and expensive to borrow because of high demand or restrictive monetary policy
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(of markets) characterized by excess demand or scarcity with prices tending to rise Compare easy
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(of a match or game) very close or even
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(of a team or group, esp of a pop group) playing well together, in a disciplined coordinated way
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informal drunk
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informal (of a person) showing tension
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archaic neat
adverb
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in a close, firm, or secure way
pull it tight
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to wait patiently; bide one's time
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to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly
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to sleep soundly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tight
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, pronunciation variant of Middle English thight “dense, solid, tight,” from Old Norse thēttr (cognate with Old English -thiht “firm, solid,” Dutch, German dicht “tight, close, dense”)
Explanation
If something is closed or fastened so firmly that it can barely be moved, it's tight. And if you accidentally shrunk your favorite pair of jeans in the wash, they might be tight too. There are many ways to use this handy adjective, including to mean "very firm," like the tight grip you keep on your dog's leash, and "strictly imposed," like a movie star's tight security. If things in your household are tight, they're scarce: "Money's tight this month, so it's peanut butter for lunch." And if you and your cousin are tight, it means you're emotionally close to each other.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When the grandchildren leave, he hugs them tight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
"Our chests feel tight," she told AFP, saying the smoke combined with recent searing heatwaves and parched fields left conditions feeling "eerie."
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
Discussions have been taking place amongst a tight group of people - the next Number 10 chief of staff James Purnell, Louise Haigh and the former MP who stood aside for Burnham, Josh Simons.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Executives at Micron Technology said last month that tight conditions would persist beyond 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
My eyes drifted to the woman, who wore a plain indigo tunic with knots, her graying hair drawn back in a tight bun.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
There were challenges on the crude side from tighter discounts and other market dynamics, but strength on the product side “more than offset it,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
—Gold futures slid more than 1% after the U.S.-Iran escalation revived concerns about inflation and prospects of tighter monetary policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The pact covers tighter defence cooperation, including with naval exercises, as well as stronger ties in trade, diplomacy, culture, sport and science, the two countries said in a joint statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
The answer was the tighter version of remarks he delivered last month.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Every day I have to cross off makes my chest feel a little tighter.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The formal declaration of Fujimori's win brings one of Peru's tightest leadership contests of all time to a close and ushers in the Andean nation's ninth president in a decade.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Series creator Christopher Storer conveys this in the briefest, tightest shots of hands lovingly plating food, as well as in panoramic views of the series as a whole.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Liberty has less than a year to replace 75% of its electricity supply in one of the tightest wholesale power markets in the West.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
The dramatic victory by Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist marked the tightest finish in 110 runnings of one of the most famous races in motor sport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
She holds her arms out, and I let her wrap me up in the biggest, tightest hug I didn’t know I needed.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
