tight

[ tahyt ]

/ taɪt /

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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; packed: 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; 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; orderly.

neatly or well built or made.

adverb, tight·er, tight·est.

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

soundly or deeply: to sleep tight.

OTHER WORDS FOR tight

11 close, mean, frugal, saving, sparing.

See synonyms for tight on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about tight

sit tight, to take no action.

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”)

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. 2023

How to use tight in a sentence

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

More people means tighter living conditions and maxed-out base services.
Downsizing the War: Layoffs and Yard Sales in Afghanistan|Nick Willard|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She pressed her hands tighter upon her bosom; her eyes sparkled with an odd approval of that brisk deed.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
Then if each end of the log is on the upper side of the trees, the harder the water pounds the tighter the dam gets.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
There was a bone-chilling breeze off the Drive that made Lamb belt his coat tighter about him.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Draw the belt tighter, my son, and hew me out this tree that is fallen across the road, for our campground is not here.
The First Christmas Tree|Henry Van Dyke
M. de Monsoreau clasped his dagger tighter in his hand, as though he longed to attack Bussy.
Chicot the Jester|Alexandre Dumas, Pere

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

Other 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

OTHER WORDS FOR tight

Idioms about tight

Origin of tight

OTHER WORDS FROM tight

Words related to tight

How to use tight in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tight

Derived forms of tight

Word Origin for tight

Other Idioms and Phrases with tight