tight
Americanadjective
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tighter,
comparative
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tightest
superlative
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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:
"Money is tight for a lot of people."
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
But he emerged as a productive target, catching 17 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns as part of a tight end group that included veterans Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Young workers in the US are also struggling with a tight jobs market, external as hiring slows.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft dropped two passes during an ugly 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Torak never knew how long he crouched against the rockface, with his eyes tight shut.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations. We’ve got to make those competitive plays,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday of third- and fourth-down situations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
But for students like Evie, managing on a much tighter budget, it's a different story.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, the Chinese bancassurance segment is likely to see near-term adjustments on tighter expense rules, but its upbeat outlook remains, given a bancassurance partner’s expansion into the high-net-worth wealth segment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
This isn’t a special penalty, just the structure of the tax code, and it can lead to meaningfully higher costs at a time when cash flow is already tighter.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
He felt himself tipping to the side and he held tighter to the rail.
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
That divergence underscores where the market is tightest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“It’s the tightest turnaround in MCG history. Getting it right matters, because the AFL finals are one of the most important times of the year for us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
They are sticky and chewy, each bite of fruit managing to get stuck in between the tightest crevices of your teeth.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was the tightest of calls, with Khalilzadeh's toe marginally ahead of the penultimate defender.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Not the positronic brain, sir. Too many factors are involved in that, and there is the tightest possible government supervision.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
