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Synonyms

tight ship

Idioms  

  1. A well-managed organization, as in The camp director runs a tight ship. This metaphoric term alludes to a ship in which the ropes are taut and by extension the ship is strictly managed. [Second half of 1900s]

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.

The new chief financial officer seems like she is running a very tight ship.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

SocGen didn't give any update on the potential sale of non-core assets after Krupa said last month he intended to run a "tight ship" in terms of the bank's portfolio.

From Reuters • Sep. 18, 2023

Back inside, despite running a tight ship, Lulo’s demeanor is calm and collected.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023

Members of the court, too, took pride in running a very tight ship.

From New York Times • May 11, 2022

My parents ran a tight ship, and I had no reason to believe they weren’t serious about their demands, so I didn’t dare bring home any grade below an A-minus.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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.