hand tight

or hand-tight


adjective
  1. (of a setscrew, nut, etc.) as tight as it can be made by hand, without the aid of a tool.

Origin of hand tight

1
First recorded in 1785–95

Words Nearby hand tight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hand tight in a sentence

  • The ground seemed to spin round, and she closed her hand tight on a bush that was standing beside her.

  • It might be, if he held his own hand tight enough, that there would not be money enough even to pay for her passage out.

    The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
  • She stooped down, and put her hand tight on her own heart, as if to still its beating, and bent her ear to the pale lips.

    Lizzie Leigh | Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Blanche clasped her papa's hand tight, and bounded five or six times.

    The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
  • "Good-bye, An' Jerusha," he said, holding her hand tight in both his own.

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins