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tight - 7 dictionary results
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tight

  [tahyt] adjective -er, -est, adverb, -er, -est.
Use tight in a Sentence
–adjective
1. firmly or closely fixed in place; not easily moved; secure: a tight knot.
2. drawn or stretched so as to be tense; taut.
3. affording little or no extra room; fitting closely, esp. too closely: a tight collar.
4. difficult to deal with or manage: to be in a tight situation.
5. of such close or compacted texture, or fitted together so closely, as to be impervious to water, air, steam, etc.: a good, tight roof.
6. concise; terse: a tight style of writing.
7. firm; rigid: his tight control of the company.
8. carefully arranged or organized and full; affording little leeway; compact: a tight schedule.
9. nearly even; close: a tight race.
10. Informal.
a. close, as friends; familiar or intimate.
b. united: The strikers are tight in their refusal to accept the proposed contract.
11. parsimonious; stingy.
12. Slang. drunk; tipsy.
13. characterized by scarcity or eager demand; costly; limited; restricted: a tight job market; tight money.
14. Journalism. (of a newspaper) having more news available than is required for or utilizable in a particular issue.
15. Baseball. inside (def. 18).
16. Scot. and North England. competent or skillful.
17. tidy.
18. neatly or well built or made.
–adverb
19. in a tight manner; closely; firmly; securely; tensely: Shut the door tight. The shirt fit tight across the shoulders.
20. soundly or deeply: to sleep tight.
—Idiom
21. sit tight, to take no action.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME, sandhi var. of ME thight dense, solid, tight < ON thēttr (c. OE -thiht firm, solid, D, G dicht tight, close, dense)

Related forms:
tightly, adverb
tightness, noun

Synonyms:
11. close, niggardly, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tight
tight   (tīt)   
adj.   tight·er, tight·est
  1. Fixed or fastened firmly in place: a tight lid; tight screws; a tight knot.
  2. Stretched or drawn out fully: a tight wire; a tight drumhead.
  3. Of such close construction as to be impermeable: cloth tight enough to hold water; warm in our tight little cabin.
    1. Leaving little empty space through compression; compact: a tight suitcase; a tight weave.
    2. Affording little spare time; full: a tight schedule.
    3. Obtainable with difficulty or only at a high price: tight money.
    4. Affected by scarcity: a tight market.
  5. Closely reasoned or concise: a tight argument; a tight style of writing.
  6. Fitting close or too close to the skin; snug: a tight collar; a fit that was much too tight.
  7. Slang Personally close; intimate: "me and the D.A., who happen to be very tight with one another" (Tom Wolfe).
  8. Experiencing a feeling of constriction: a tight feeling in the chest.
  9. Reluctant to spend or give; stingy.
    1. Obtainable with difficulty or only at a high price: tight money.
    2. Affected by scarcity: a tight market.
  11. Difficult to deal with or get out of: a tight spot.
  12. Barely profitable: a tight bargain.
  13. Closely contested; close: a tight match.
  14. Chiefly British Neat and trim in appearance or arrangement.
  15. Marked by full control over elements or subordinates; firm: tight management; a tight orchestral performance.
  16. Slang Intoxicated; drunk.
  17. Baseball Inside.
adv.   tight·er, tight·est
  1. Firmly; securely.
  2. Soundly: sleep tight.
  3. Snugly or with constriction: My shoes are laced too tight.

[Middle English, dense, of Scandinavian origin.]
tight'ly adv., tight'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean not slack or loose on account of being pulled or drawn out fully: a tight skirt; taut sails; tense piano strings.

Usage Note: Tight is used as an adverb following verbs that denote a process of closure or constriction, as squeeze, shut, close, tie, and hold. In this use it is subtly distinct from the adverb tightly. Tight denotes the state resulting from the process, whereas tightly denotes the manner of its application. As such, tight is more appropriate when the focus is on a state that endures for some time after the activity has ended. The sentence She closed up the house tight suggests preparation for an impending blizzard. By the same token, it is more natural to say The windows were frozen tight than The windows were frozen tightly, since in this case the tightness of the seal is not likely to be the result of the manner in which the windows were frozen. With a few verbs tight is used idiomatically as an intensive and is the only possible form: sleep tight; sit tight. Tight can be used only following the verb: The house was shut tight (not tight shut).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tight

Tight\, obs. p. p. of Tie. --Spenser.

Tight

Tight\, a. [Compar. Tighter; superl. Tightest.] [OE. tight, thiht; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. ?[=e]ttr, Dan. t[ae]t, Sw. t["a]t: akin to D. & G. dicht thick, tight, and perhaps to E. thee to thrive, or to thick. Cf. Taut.]

1. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open; as, tight cloth; a tight knot.

2. Close, so as not to admit the passage of a liquid or other fluid; not leaky; as, a tight ship; a tight cask; a tight room; -- often used in this sense as the second member of a compound; as, water-tight; air-tight.

3. Fitting close, or too close, to the body; as, a tight coat or other garment.

4. Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.

Clad very plain, but clean and tight. --Evelyn.

I'll spin and card, and keep our children tight. --Gay.

5. Close; parsimonious; saving; as, a man tight in his dealings. [Colloq.]

6. Not slack or loose; firmly stretched; taut; -- applied to a rope, chain, or the like, extended or stretched out.

7. Handy; adroit; brisk. [Obs.] --Shak.

8. Somewhat intoxicated; tipsy. [Slang]

9. (Com.) Pressing; stringent; not easy; firmly held; dear; -- said of money or the money market. Cf. Easy, 7.

Tight

Tight\, v. t. To tighten. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : tight
Spanish: apretado; estrecho,
German: fest, eng,
Japanese: きつい
More Translations »

tight 
c.1435, "dense, close, compact," from M.E. thight, from O.N. þettr "watertight, close in texture, solid," from P.Gmc. *thenkhtuz (cf. second element in O.E. meteþiht "stout from eating;" M.H.G. dihte "dense, thick," Ger. dicht "dense, tight," O.H.G. gidigan, Ger. gediegen "genuine, solid, worthy"), from PIE base *tenk- "to become firm, curdle, thicken" (cf. Ir. techt "curdled, coagulated," Lith. tankus "close, tight," Pers. tang "tight," Skt. tanakti "draws together, contracts"). Sense of "drawn, stretched" is from 1576; meaning "fitting closely" (as of garments) is from 1779; that of "evenly matched" (of a contest, bargain, etc.) is from 1828, Amer.Eng.; that of "drunk" is from 1830; that of "close, sympathetic" is from 1956. Tightrope is recorded from 1801. Tight-assed "unwilling to relax" is attested from 1903. Tight-laced is recorded from 1741 in both the lit. and fig. senses. Tight-lipped is first attested 1876.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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tight

In addition to the idioms beginning with tight, also see in a bind (tight corner); sit tight.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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