tight

[ tahyt ]

/ taɪt /

adjective, tight·er, tight·est.

firmly or closely fixed in place; not easily moved; secure: a tight knot.

drawn or stretched so as to be tense; taut.

affording little or no extra room; fitting closely, especially too closely: a tight collar.

difficult to deal with or manage: to be in a tight situation.

of such close or compacted texture, or fitted together so closely, as to be impervious to water, air, steam, etc.: a good, tight roof.

concise; terse: a tight style of writing.

firm; rigid: his tight control of the company.

carefully arranged or organized and full; affording little leeway; compact: a tight schedule.

nearly even; close: a tight race.

Informal.

close, as friends; familiar or intimate.
united: The strikers are tight in their refusal to accept the proposed contract.

parsimonious; stingy.

Slang. amazing; cool: Your new place is tight!

Older Slang. drunk; tipsy.

characterized by scarcity or eager demand; costly; limited; restricted: a tight job market; tight money.

Journalism. (of a newspaper) having more news available than is required for or utilizable in a particular issue.

Baseball. inside(def 18).

Scot. and North England. competent or skillful.

tidy.

neatly or well built or made.

adverb, tight·er, tight·est.

in a tight manner; closely; firmly; securely; tensely: Shut the door tight. The shirt fit tight across the shoulders.

soundly or deeply: to sleep tight.

Words nearby tight

tiger's-eye, tigereye, tigerfish, tigerish, tiggerish, tight, tight as a drum, tight as a tick, tight end, tight five, tight forward

Idioms for tight

sit tight, to take no action.

Origin of tight

1400–50; late Middle English, sandhi variant of Middle English thight dense, solid, tight < Old Norse thēttr (cognate with Old English -thiht firm, solid, Dutch, German dicht tight, close, dense)

SYNONYMS FOR tight

11 close, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tight ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

tight·ly, adverbtight·ness, nouno·ver·tight, adjectiveo·ver·tight·ly, adverb

o·ver·tight·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tight

And that means they also fall under the umbrella of programs most likely to get the axe when state and federal budgets are tight.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Weirich said whenever she saw Fox, she was wearing something too tight.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen|Sharon Adarlo|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He dropped and I felt a tight surge in my stomach that ran all the way up to my jaw.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His uniform was too tight and was wrapped around his doughy body like cellophane.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

LePage owed his election in 2010 to a split opposition, as he won a tight three-way race over Cutler and Democrat Libby Mitchell.
Republican Wave Carries Maine Governor Paul LePage to Victory|Ben Jacobs|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There had been a tight scrum which had more or less collapsed.
The Loom of Youth|Alec Waugh
A tight boat, a fair wind, a smooth sea—let us hope for the best!
For Faith and Freedom|Walter Besant
His lips were tight pressed, his eyes hard, as he rode by the jail again and out into the county road.
The Short Cut|Jackson Gregory
From another corner he tried to extricate a half-sovereign, but it would not come, the knot was too tight.
Thereby Hangs a Tale|George Manville Fenn
Never since the days of the Invincible Armada had war been so brought home to the people of the tight little island.
The Naval History of the United States|Willis J. Abbot.

British Dictionary definitions for tight

tight

/ (taɪt) /

adjective

stretched or drawn so as not to be loose; tauta tight cord

fitting or covering in a close mannera tight dress

held, made, fixed, or closed firmly and securelya tight knot

of close and compact construction or organization, esp so as to be impervious to water, air, etc
(in combination)watertight; airtight

unyielding or stringentto keep a tight hold on resources

cramped or constricteda tight fit

mean or miserly

difficult and problematica tight situation

hardly profitablea tight bargain

economics

(of a commodity) difficult to obtain; in excess demand
(of funds, money, etc) difficult and expensive to borrow because of high demand or restrictive monetary policy
(of markets) characterized by excess demand or scarcity with prices tending to riseCompare easy (def. 8)

(of a match or game) very close or even

(of a team or group, esp of a pop group) playing well together, in a disciplined coordinated way

informal drunk

informal (of a person) showing tension

archaic, or dialect neat

adverb

in a close, firm, or secure waypull it tight

sit tight

to wait patiently; bide one's time
to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly

sleep tight to sleep soundly

Derived forms of tight

tightly, adverbtightness, noun

Word Origin for tight

C14: probably variant of thight, from Old Norse thēttr close; related to Middle High German dīhte thick

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with tight

tight

In addition to the idioms beginning with tight

tight as a drum
tight as a tick
tighten one's belt
tighten the screws
tight rein on, a
tight ship
tight spot
tight squeeze

also see:

in a bind (tight corner)
sit tight

tight

adjective, tight·er, tight·est.

adverb, tight·er, tight·est.

Content related to tight

Words related to tight

Words nearby tight

Idioms for tight

Origin of tight

SYNONYMS FOR tight

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

Examples from the Web for tight

British Dictionary definitions for tight

adjective

adverb

Derived forms of tight

Word Origin for tight

Idioms and Phrases with tight