• Tight

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: tÄ«t, IPA: /taɪt/
    • Rhymes: -aɪt

    Origin

    From Middle English thight, thiht, from Old English *þīht, *þiht (attested in meteþiht) and Old Norse þéttr, both from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tenkt- ("dense, thick, tight"), from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ("to stretch, pull"). Cognate with Scots ticht, West Frisian ticht, Danish tæt, Norwegian tett, tjett, Swedish tät, Dutch dicht (""), German dicht ("").

    Full definition of tight

    Adjective

    tight

    1. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.tight cloth; a tight knot
    2. Fitting close, or too close, to the body.a tight coat
      My socks are too tight.
    3. Of a space, etc, narrow, so that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
      The passageway was so tight we could barely get through.
      They flew in a tight formation.
    4. Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.
      The mountain pass was made dangerous by its many tight corners.
    5. Under high tension.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 17, The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. â€¦.
      • 2011, November 10, Jeremy Wilson, England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report, The only negative from a comfortable first-half was the sight of Aston Villa’s Nathan Delfouneso being withdrawn with a tight hamstring after only 11 minutes.
    6. Make sure to pull the rope tight.
    7. Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
      Their marching band is extremely tight.
    8. (slang) Intoxicated; drunk or acting like being drunk.
      We went drinking and got tight.
    9. (colloquial) Intimately friendly.
      We've grown tighter over the years.
    10. (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.
      That is one tight bicycle!
    11. (slang, British (regional)) Mean; unfair; unkind.
      Don't do that. That's tight.
      • 1977, Willy Russell, Our Day Out, Act One, Scene One:Reilly: Ey, Miss, hang on, hang on... can we come with y', Miss? Can we?Digga: Go on, Miss, don't be tight, let's come.
      • 2001, Kevin Sampson, Outlaws, p. 244:"Ah leave him, ay!" goes one of the girls. "Don't be tight." I turns to her. "Don't you think it's tight it's tight terrorising old ladies? Ay?"
      • 2011, Andrew Hicks, "Thai Girl: A story of the one who said 'no'", unnumbered page:"That's right ... so even when life's a grind, the Thais keep smiling. They think the farang are a miserable lot who have to get drunk to enjoy themselves.""Dutch, that's tight mate, I mean what's wrong with getting pissed. When you're not working, you gotta have a good time," said Darren.
    12. (slang, usually derogatory) Miserly or frugal.
      He's a bit tight with his money
    13. (colloquial) Scarce, hard to come by.
      I grew up in a poor neighborhood; money was very tight, but we made do.
    14. (obsolete) Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.
      • Evelynclad very plain, but clean and tight
      • GrayI'll spin and card, and keep our children tight.
    15. (obsolete) Handy; adroit; brisk.
    16. (poker) A player who plays very few hands.
    17. (poker) A strategy which involves playing very few hands.

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from the adjective tight

    Adverb

    tight

    1. Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.Make sure the lid is closed tight.
    2. Soundly.Good night, sleep tight.

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from the adverb tight

    Verb

    1. (obsolete) To tighten.----
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