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tight

[tahyt]
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adjective, tight·er, tight·est.
  1. firmly or closely fixed in place; not easily moved; secure: a tight knot.
  2. drawn or stretched so as to be tense; taut.
  3. affording little or no extra room; fitting closely, especially too closely: a tight collar.
  4. difficult to deal with or manage: to be in a tight situation.
  5. of such close or compacted texture, or fitted together so closely, as to be impervious to water, air, steam, etc.: a good, tight roof.
  6. concise; terse: a tight style of writing.
  7. firm; rigid: his tight control of the company.
  8. carefully arranged or organized and full; affording little leeway; compact: a tight schedule.
  9. nearly even; close: a tight race.
  10. Informal.
    1. close, as friends; familiar or intimate.
    2. united: The strikers are tight in their refusal to accept the proposed contract.
  11. parsimonious; stingy.
  12. Slang. amazing; cool: Your new place is tight!
  13. Older Slang. drunk; tipsy.
  14. characterized by scarcity or eager demand; costly; limited; restricted: a tight job market; tight money.
  15. Journalism. (of a newspaper) having more news available than is required for or utilizable in a particular issue.
  16. Baseball. inside(def 18).
  17. Scot. and North England. competent or skillful.
  18. tidy.
  19. neatly or well built or made.
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adverb, tight·er, tight·est.
  1. in a tight manner; closely; firmly; securely; tensely: Shut the door tight. The shirt fit tight across the shoulders.
  2. soundly or deeply: to sleep tight.
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Idioms
  1. sit tight, to take no action.
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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)
Related formstight·ly, adverbtight·ness, nouno·ver·tight, adjectiveo·ver·tight·ly, adverbo·ver·tight·ness, noun

Synonyms

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11. close, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

compact, strong, stiff, solid, strained, sturdy, steady, fast, inflexible, tense, taut, stable, quick, rigid, thick, narrow, cramped, tightened, airtight, short

Examples from the Web for tight

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • His grasp did not bruise, it did not seem to be tight; but the hand that held it was immovable.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Linda suddenly gathered her friend in her arms and held her tight.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • You never know what hold you really have until you get in a tight place.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • Screwed the top on tight, which would make the connection, and then forgot the time.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • We were both down, with our faces in the snow, and I held him tight.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

British Dictionary definitions for tight

tight

adjective
  1. stretched or drawn so as not to be loose; tauta tight cord
  2. fitting or covering in a close mannera tight dress
  3. held, made, fixed, or closed firmly and securelya tight knot
    1. of close and compact construction or organization, esp so as to be impervious to water, air, etc
    2. (in combination)watertight; airtight
  5. unyielding or stringentto keep a tight hold on resources
  6. cramped or constricteda tight fit
  7. mean or miserly
  8. difficult and problematica tight situation
  9. hardly profitablea tight bargain
  10. economics
    1. (of a commodity) difficult to obtain; in excess demand
    2. (of funds, money, etc) difficult and expensive to borrow because of high demand or restrictive monetary policy
    3. (of markets) characterized by excess demand or scarcity with prices tending to riseCompare easy (def. 8)
  11. (of a match or game) very close or even
  12. (of a team or group, esp of a pop group) playing well together, in a disciplined coordinated way
  13. informal drunk
  14. informal (of a person) showing tension
  15. archaic, or dialect neat
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adverb
  1. in a close, firm, or secure waypull it tight
  2. sit tight
    1. to wait patiently; bide one's time
    2. to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly
  3. sleep tight to sleep soundly
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Derived Formstightly, adverbtightness, noun

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for tight

adj.

mid-15c., "dense, close, compact," from Middle English thight, from Old Norse þettr "watertight, close in texture, solid," from Proto-Germanic *thenkhtuz (cf. second element in Old English meteþiht "stout from eating;" Middle High German dihte "dense, thick," German dicht "dense, tight," Old High German gidigan, German gediegen "genuine, solid, worthy"), from PIE root *tenk- "to become firm, curdle, thicken" (cf. Irish techt "curdled, coagulated," Lithuanian tankus "close, tight," Persian tang "tight," Sanskrit tanakti "draws together, contracts").

Sense of "drawn, stretched" is from 1570s; meaning "fitting closely" (as of garments) is from 1779; that of "evenly matched" (of a contest, bargain, etc.) is from 1828, American English; that of "drunk" is from 1830; that of "close, sympathetic" is from 1956. Tight-assed "unwilling to relax" is attested from 1903. Tight-laced is recorded from 1741 in both the literal and figurative senses. Tight-lipped is first attested 1876.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

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
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.