tight

[ tahyt ]

/ taɪt /

See synonyms for: tight / tighter / tightest / tightly on Thesaurus.com

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.

SYNONYMS FOR tight

11 close, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.

See synonyms for tight on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?

Question 1 of 10

seclusion

a false belief or opinion.

the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.

the state of being isolated, kept apart, or withdrawn into solitude.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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)

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

tightly, adverbtightness, 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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for tight

I was drawn to The Class for different reasons—chiefly, the pipe dream of achieving a tighter and tauter backside.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Second, in the tighter races, the candidates are feeling the heat.
How Long Can the Republicans Hide The Crazy?|Dean Obeidallah|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An earlier Marquette Law School poll showed a tighter race, but with Burke again easily beating Walker by 18 points among women.
What Do Women Want? Not the GOP|Lloyd Green|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The former congresswoman has advocated for tighter gun laws after being the victim of a near-fatal shooting in Tucson in 2011.
Ice Bucket Challenge Leads to Political Trolling|Asawin Suebsaeng|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But maybe no star walks a tighter rope than Melissa McCarthy.
The Trials of ‘Tammy’: Stop Policing Melissa McCarthy’s Body|Teo Bugbee|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Journal boxes will be tight enough to prevent pounding, but no tighter.
Farm Engines and How to Run Them|James H. Stephenson
They reined up, and lashed him tighter; he had actually loosened his cords.
Stingaree|E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
She never once let King's hands go, but pressed them tighter and tighter until the circulation nearly stopped and they grew numb.
King--of the Khyber Rifles|Talbot Mundy
Well, there you was; and the more you was pulled the tighter you was, just below the bottom of the ladder.
Brownsmith's Boy|George Manville Fenn
The more he struggled the tighter the grip became, till at last he fairly fell on his knees, and howled for pain.
Follow My leader|Talbot Baines Reed

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

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

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WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

tight

adjective, tight·er, tight·est.

adverb, tight·er, tight·est.

SYNONYMS FOR tight

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

Idioms for tight

Origin of tight

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

Example sentences 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

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

tight

adjective, tight·er, tight·est.

adverb, tight·er, tight·est.

SYNONYMS FOR tight

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

Idioms for tight

Origin of tight

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

Words related to tight

Example sentences 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