Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Fixed or fastened firmly in place.
  • adjective Stretched or drawn out fully.
  • adjective Of such close construction as to be impermeable.
  • adjective Leaving little empty space through compression; compact.
  • adjective Affording little spare time; full.
  • adjective Closely reasoned or concise.
  • adjective Fitting close or too close to the skin; snug.
  • adjective Slang Personally close; intimate.
  • adjective Experiencing a feeling of constriction.
  • adjective Reluctant to spend or give; stingy.
  • adjective Obtainable with difficulty or only at a high price.
  • adjective Affected by scarcity.
  • adjective Difficult to deal with or get out of.
  • adjective Barely profitable.
  • adjective Closely contested; close.
  • adjective Chiefly British Neat and trim in appearance or arrangement.
  • adjective Marked by full control over elements or subordinates; firm.
  • adjective Slang Intoxicated; drunk.
  • adjective Baseball Inside.
  • adverb Firmly; securely.
  • adverb Soundly.
  • adverb Snugly or with constriction.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • 12. In billiards: Noting balls that are fast, or frozen to each other.
  • Noting pockets that are small for the diameter of the balls.
  • 13. See the extract.
  • An old preterit of tie.
  • See tite.
  • To make tight; tighten.
  • Close or closely compacted in texture or structure.
  • Hence Trim; tidy; neat.
  • Expert; handy; skilful; adroit; capable.
  • Close; firm; as, a tight grasp; a tight knot.
  • Close-fitting; especially, fitting too closely because too small, narrow, or the like: as, a tight shoe; a tight coat.
  • Close-fisted; narrow; niggardly; parsimonious: as, a man tight in his dealings.
  • Tense; taut; strained or stretched so as to leave no slack: as, a tight rope.
  • Produced by or requiring great straining or exertion; severe: as, to get through by a tight pull; specifically, in medicine, noting a cough accompanied with a painful sense of constriction, and without expectoration; racking; hacking.
  • Scarce; not easily obtained or obtainable, because held firmly or tied up in some way: applied to money; hence, straitened for want of money: as, a tight money-market. [Commercial slang.]
  • Under the influence of strong drink; intoxicated; tipsy; “full.”
  • Noting the condition of the cutting edge of a saw as condensed by hammering. Also small.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To tighten.
  • p. p. of tie.
  • adjective Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open
  • adjective Close, so as not to admit the passage of a liquid or other fluid; not leaky; ; -- often used in this sense as the second member of a compound
  • adjective Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
  • adjective Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.
  • adjective colloq. Close; parsimonious; saving.
  • adjective Not slack or loose; firmly stretched; taut; -- applied to a rope, chain, or the like, extended or stretched out.
  • adjective obsolete Handy; adroit; brisk.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, dense, of Scandinavian origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English thight, from Old Norse þéttr (Danish tæt, Swedish tät), from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz.

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Examples

  • John's mind had to speculate vaguely whether or not Desmond knew the nature of the tight place -- _tight_ was such a very descriptive adjective -- out of which he had pulled Scaife.

    The Hill A Romance of Friendship Horace Annesley Vachell 1908

  • John's mind had to speculate vaguely whether or not Desmond knew the nature of the tight place -- _tight_ was such a very descriptive adjective -- out of which he had pulled Scaife.

    The Hill A Romance of Friendship Horace Annesley Vachell 1908

  • Rita Moran was waiting for him, her expression tight with anger and frustration.

    I’ll Walk Alone Mary Higgins Clark 2011

  • As they get exposed over to the California coastline, we're going to see what we refer to as a tight pressure gradient.

    CNN Transcript Feb 14, 2009 2009

  • JOHNSON: One of the things that's important as you are going out networking and talking to people, really being able to have what I call a tight and skinny 30-second pitch.

    CNN Transcript Oct 26, 2008 2008

  • This will help your line remain tight, which is important for detecting takes and for quick, effective strikes with both lures and flies.

    Field and Stream Guide: 50 Ways to Catch Spring Trout 2004

  • That means it's had what we call a tight trading range in Wall Street parlance making Coca-Cola our stock of the week.

    CNN Transcript Sep 18, 2004 2004

  • He was in build what they call a tight little fellow; short, dark, with a warm colour, and that upright set of the head and chest, that flaunting way in movement recalling

    The Prussian Officer and Other Stories 2003

  • He smiled at her, but his face was drawn, his expression tight.

    Loving the Highlander Janet Chapman 2003

  • He smiled at her, but his face was drawn, his expression tight.

    Loving the Highlander Janet Chapman 2003

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