English Explanatory Dictionary

tight

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
  2. Unyielding or firm.
  3. Under high tension; taut.
  4. Scarce, hard to come by.
  5. Intimate, close, close-knit, intimately friendly.
  6. Miserly or frugal.
  7. Short of money.
  8. Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
  9. Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
  10. Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.
  11. Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
  12. Close, very similar in a value such as score or time.
adv
  1. Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.
  2. Soundly.
verb
  1. To make tight; tighten.
  2. To make water-tight.

Pronunciation

tīt /taɪt/ en-us-tight.ogg

Word forms

tight tighter tightest tights tighting tighted

Etymology

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-).

Synonyms

close serried dense tense under tension parsimonious snug tight-fitting precise plastered cool fab rad slick shipshape trim dexterous skilful fast firm tight trig secure crowded narrow polished taut close-knit intimate thick as thieves niggardly figure-hugging blotto ace ruly crafty firmly securely tightly soundly well

Antonyms

baggy loose sagging saggy slack relaxed generous prodigal scattergood broad capacious open roomy spacious wide slapdash sloppy clearheaded on the wagon crap naff pathetic rubbish nice pleasant unruly messy bungling maladroit unskilful antonym(s) of badly fitfully

Related words

tighten

Derived words

airtight as tight as a duck's arse tight as a duck's arse as tight as a gnat's chuff tight as a gnat's chuff as tight as Dick's hatband blow me tight bottle-tight finger tight finger-tight hand-tight hang tight high and tight hog tight hug-me-tight in tight keep a tight rein on not wrapped too tight on a tight leash skintight stick-tight sun-tight supertight tight-arse tight-arsed tight as a drum tight as a duck's ass tight as a tick tight as Dick's hatband tightass tight-assed tight building syndrome tight closure tight-collar tighten tight end tighter than Dick's hatband tighter than wallpaper tight-fisted tight-fitting tight five tighthead tighties tight junction tight-knit tight-laced tight lattice tight-lipped tight lips tight loop tightly tight money tightness tight oil tight pants syndrome tightrope tights tight scratch tight ship tight slap

Translations

Albanian: ngjitur Albanian: njesh (gheh) Albanian: ngushtë Albanian: cekët Armenian: կիպ Armenian: ձիգ Armenian: նեղ Central Bikol: piot Bulgarian: стегнат Bulgarian: те́сен Bulgarian: оби́гран Bulgarian: сти́снат Chinese Mandarin: 緊 /紧 Danish: snæver Dutch: strak Dutch: dicht German: knapp German: eng German: dicht Greek: σφιχτός Hungarian: szoros Indonesian: ketat Ingrian: kiintiä Māori: taparenga Māori: kita Māori: ita Māori: rawe Māori: kaihākere Māori: porokaihākere Māori: matapiko Māori: matamau Māori: tūmatarau Māori: hākere Māori: ringa poto Marathi: घट्ट Norwegian: snever Plautdietsch: faust Polish: ciasny Russian: те́сный Swedish: snäv Thai: แน่น Thai: คับ Turkish: bitişik Zazaki: pêpêya Zazaki: tenge (diq) Arabic: ضَيِّق Arabic: محزق Bashkir: тығыҙ Belarusian: це́сны Burmese: ကျပ် Cebuano: hugot Chinese Cantonese: 緊 /紧 Czech: těsný Esperanto: strikta Finnish: tiukka Finnish: kireä Finnish: timmi French: serré French: tendu Higaonon: hugut Hiligaynon: hugut Icelandic: þrengdur Italian: aderente Italian: teso Italian: stretto Italian: nitido Japanese: きつい Khmer: តឹង Central Kurdish: تەنگ Northern Kurdish: teng
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