tight

[tahyt]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tight 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.

Idioms

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)

Related formstight·ly, adverbtight·ness, nouno·ver·tight, adjectiveo·ver·tight·ly, adverbo·ver·tight·ness, noun

Synonyms for tight

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tight ON THESAURUS.COM

11. close, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tightly

tight, hard, strongly, thoroughly, rigidly, soundly, securely, solidly, close, fast, firm, firmly, deeply, steadfastly, inflexibly, solid, steadily, substantially, enduringly, fixedly

Examples from the Web for tightly

Contemporary Examples of tightly

That was accomplished by cops such as the one whose picture was clutched so tightly by his widow on Sunday.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss
Michael Daly
January 5, 2015
They lifted her up, and when they saw that she was laced too tightly, they cut the stay lace in two.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her
The Brothers Grimm
November 30, 2014
She checks the buttons to make sure that they are all tightly fastened.
Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror in Iran
IranWire
October 18, 2014
Three feet of tightly packed earth was then added on top of the roof.
Life Under Air Strikes: Children Under Fire Will Never Forget — or Forgive
Clive Irving
August 3, 2014
Reality shows are as tightly storylined and produced as drama, the genre they displaced.
‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ Loses a Leg in Sixth-Season Finale
Tim Teeman
July 23, 2014

Historical Examples of tightly

He did not heed her warning, but drew her into the shadow and held her tightly to him.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
Pour in the pudding, and tie it tightly, leaving room for it to swell.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Put the mixture into a stone jug, or a demijohn, and cork it tightly.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
He laid his hands upon his collar as he spoke, and grasped it; tightly too.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
No, no, he could not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for tightly

tight

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 Formstightly, 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

Word Origin and History for tightly

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.

Idioms and Phrases with tightly

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