Word.ws English Dictionary

tight

/taɪt/

tight adjective: firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.

Adjective

tight (comparative tighter, superlative tightest)

  1. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
    • a tight sponge; a tight knot
    • Pull your seatbelts tight before takeoff.
    1. Unyielding or firm.
      • tight control on a situation
    2. Under high tension; taut.
      • Make sure to pull the rope tight.
      • 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. […].1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
    3. (colloquial) Scarce, hard to come by.
      • I grew up in a poor neighborhood; money was very tight, but we made do.
      • China’s currency, the jenminpi, has remained stable; the Chinese assert that it is the "world’s most stable currency." This is generally conceded to be the result of the care with which the Chinese economy and its tight budget are managed.1974, “Asia and the Pacific”, in Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1974, Stanford, Cali.: Hoover Institution Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 428
    4. (figuratively, informal) Intimate, close, close-knit, intimately friendly.
      • We've grown tighter over the years.
      • The drawbacks of being in a too-tight couple (there's no room to blow your nose)1985 April 20, Julie Ogletree, “Festival: Variety and Limits”, in Gay Community News, page 8
    5. (derogatory, figuratively, slang, usually) Miserly or frugal.
      • He's a bit tight with his money.
      • You say he's a Jew, does it mean that he's tight?1995, Jewel, “Who Will Save Your Soul”
    6. (slang) Short of money.
      • I started gambling when you were about four. Your mom and I were pretty tight for cash and I thought what the heck, it could get us some quick money.2015, Melissa Pearl, Poker Face
  2. (design or arrangement) Narrow, such 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.
    1. (design or arrangement) Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
      • tight clothing; a tight coat; My socks are too tight.
    2. (design or arrangement) 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.
    3. (design or arrangement) Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
      • He reported the hull was tight and secure and did not leak a drop.1965, MotorBoating, page 145
      • Security is tight inside and outside the building, guarded by a bewildering collection of soldiers, policemen and gendarmes. Relatives watch as prisoners in handcuffs and leg irons shuffle past.2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian
    4. (design or arrangement) Close, very similar in a value such as score or time.
      • Frank ended up fourth in a tight finish, only three-quarter of a length from first money.1984, Harness Horse
      • Syracuse had built another good first half lead of 11 points. In the second half, however, Kansas came back and the score was tight through the rest of the game. In the final seconds, Syracuse led 81-78.2012 September 30, John Torres, Carmelo Anthony, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 14
  3. Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
    • Their marching band is extremely tight.
    1. Not conceding many goals.
      • The odd thing was that Sunderland made the better start and showed early signs that they might pose serious problems to the Premier League’s tightest defence.2014 October 18, Paul Doyle, “Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter”, in The Guardian
  4. (slang) Intoxicated; drunk.
    • We went drinking and got tight.
    • And every single night when me da’ would come home tight he’d invite the neighbours out with this chorus.c. 1930, Dominic Behan, “Come Out Ye Black and Tans”performed by The Wolfe Tones
    Synonyms:
    blotto
  5. (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.
    • That is one tight bicycle!
    Synonyms:
    ace
  6. (Northern England, slang, chiefly Liverpool) Mean; unfair; unkind.
    • 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.1977, Willy Russell, Our Day Out, act 1, scene 1
    • "Ah leave him, ay!" goes one of the girls. "Don't be tight." I turns to her. "Don't you think it's tight terrorising old ladies? Ay?"2001, Kevin Sampson, Outlaws, page 244
  7. Limited or restricted.
    • We had a very tight schedule.
    • It is kept super-clean by helpful staff who still find the time to help customers with tight connections.2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Eastbourne”, in RAIL, number 948, page 26
  8. (obsolete) Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.
    • clad very plain, but clean and tight1685 November 4 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 26 October 1685]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition...
    • I'll spin and card, and keep our children tight.1714, John Gay, The What D'ye Call It
    Synonyms:
    ruly
  9. (obsolete) Handy; adroit; brisk.
    • [S]ince we've sailed together, I've been conning over in my mind that the company of such miserable thieves and robbers was not to your liking, and would not suit such a tight lad with as good larning ^([sic]) as yourself.1846, George Little, The American Cruiser's Own Book, page 21
    Synonyms:
    crafty
  10. Of a player, who plays very few hands.
  11. Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands.
  12. (US, slang) With understeer, primarily used to describe NASCAR stock cars.
  13. (New-York, slang) Angry or irritated.
    • "I was trying to be like a lady, but y'all be getting me tight!"2016, Cardi B, Washpoppin
  14. (slang, vulgar) Of a person, having a tight vagina or anus.
    • She was much tighter than he thought she would be. It had been a while since she had anything but oral sex she had an adrenaline rush as she heart began to pound.2008 July 2, Linda Mi-Suk Enos, The Korean Palace of Honolulu Revised (6x9), Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 222
    • She was very tight and wet at the same time. He never had sex with a maiden before.2014 August 26, Agnieszka Roeske, Not the One for Her, Page Publishing Inc, →ISBN

Adverb

tight (comparative tighter, superlative tightest)

  1. Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.
    • Hold on tight to the rope.
    • 'I had my eyes tight shut.'1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 100
  2. Soundly.
    • Good night, sleep tight.
    Synonyms:
    soundly, well

Verb

tight (third-person singular simple present tights, present participle tighting, simple past and past participle tighted)

  1. (obsolete) To make tight; tighten.
  2. (obsolete) To make water-tight.

tight meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

tight in Hindi

tight, narrow
तंग taṅg
tight
सँकड़ा sãkṛā, मज़बूत mazbūt

tight in Tamil

இறுக்கமான, நெருக்கமான, சிக்கனமான

tight in Marathi

firmly held together
घट्ट ghaṭṭa
under high tension — see also taut
घट्ट ghaṭṭa

tight in Urdu

tight, narrow
تنگ taṅg
tight
ٹائٹ ṭāiṭ, مضبوط mazbūt
More languagesFewer languages
tight in Bengali
দৃঢ় dɾiṛho
tight in Telugu
గట్టి gaṭṭi
tight in Malayalam
മുറുകിയ, ഗാഢമായ, ഞെരുക്കമുളള, പിശുക്കുകാട്ടുന്ന
tight in Kannada
ಬಿರಿ, ಗುತ್ತ, ಗಟ್ಟಿ, ಇಱಿ
tight in Punjabi
چَوَل caval
tight in Gujarati
ચુસ્ત
tight in Nepali
टाइट, तंग
tight in Arabic
ضَيِّق ḍayyiq
tight in Indonesian
ketat
tight in Persian
تنگ tang
tight in Thai
แน่น nɛ̂n, คับ káp
tight in Vietnamese
chật
tight in Myanmar
ကျပ် kyap

Examples of tight in a sentence

  • 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.2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
  • Global supply chains, meanwhile, have grown both tighter and more supple since the late 1990s—the result of improving information technology and of freer trade—making routine work easier to relocate.2011 July 25, Don Peck, “Can the Middle Class Be Saved?”, in The Atlantic:
  • England squeezed high and dominated the ball, penning Iceland back but the hosts kept the lines tight and it became clear that England would have to work for their openings.2020 September 5, David Hytner, “Raheem Sterling keeps his cool to see off Iceland amid blaze of late drama”, in The Guardian:
  • Armed forces and RCMP officers formed tight grid lines to search the surrounding woods and rural fields.2026 July 25, Nicholas Muhoro, “The Last Call of Jo-Anne Pedersen, the Girl Who Vanished From a Payphone”, in Skip Boring, archived from...

All 40 example sentences with tight

Synonyms of tight

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

10 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of tight

Forms of tight

Adjective
comparativetighter
superlativetightest
Adverb
comparativetighter
superlativetightest
Verb
third-person singular presenttights
present participletighting
past participletighted
pasttighted

Origin of tight

From Middle English tight, tyght, tyȝt, tiht, variants of thight, thiht, from Old English *þiht, *þīht (attested in meteþiht), from Proto-West Germanic *þį̄ht(ī), 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, Icelandic þéttur (“dense”), Norwegian tett, Swedish tät, Dutch dicht (“dense”), German dicht (“dense”). The current form with t- /t/ rather than etymologically-expected th- /θ/ arose in Middle English under the influence of the etymologically-unrelated verbs tighten and tight, which come from a different Proto-Indo-European root (starting with *d- and thus regularly having t-).

From Middle English tighten, thyhten (“to make tight”); see tighten.

Words formed from tight

Phrases with tight

22 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with tight

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about tight

What does tight mean?
Tight means firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
What is tight in Hindi?
Tight in Hindi is तंग (taṅg), सँकड़ा (sãkṛā), मज़बूत (mazbūt). See Tight meaning in Hindi.
How do you use tight in a sentence?
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.
What part of speech is tight?
Tight can be an adjective, an adverb or a verb.
How do you pronounce tight?
Tight is pronounced /taɪt/.

Words near tight in the dictionary

  1. Tighe
  2. Tighes
  3. Tighes Hill
  4. Tighina
  5. Tighnabruaich
  6. tight
  7. tight and curlies
  8. tight as a drum
  9. tight as a duck's arse
  10. tight as a duck's ass
  11. tight as a gnat's chuff

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tight (page history and authors); तंग (Hindi) (page history and authors); tight (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); تنگ (Urdu) (page history and authors); দৃঢ় (Bengali) (page history and authors); గట్టి (Telugu) (page history and authors); tight (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tight (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tight (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); tight (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-tight.ogg.

Cite this entry: “tight.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tight. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.