TIGHT


Meaning of TIGHT in English

I. adjective

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a firm/tight grip

The streets were crowded and she kept a tight grip on her bag.

a sharp/tight bend (= a curve that changes direction suddenly )

That road sign means you are approaching a sharp bend.

a sharp/tight curve (= one that turns suddenly in another direction )

There's a tight curve in the road up ahead.

a tight budget (= small and limited )

Most young people have to live within a tight budget.

a tight constraint (= a strict limit )

They were operating within tight financial constraints.

a tight deadline (= one that is difficult because it does not allow much time to do something )

As a journalist, you have to be able to work to tight deadlines.

a tight smile written (= when you are not really happy or friendly )

As he stepped past Carson he gave a quick, tight smile of acknowledgement.

a tight/firm hold

Rose had a tight hold of her hand.

a tight/sharp corner (= very curved and difficult to drive around )

Go slowly because there’s a sharp corner up ahead.

close/tight

Most people were predicting a close race.

get...out of a tight spot

I hope you can help get me out of a tight spot .

Hold on tight

Hold on tight !

puts...in...tight spot

This puts the chairman in a very tight spot .

tight curls (= curves that are very close together )

Her dark hair was arranged in tight curls.

tight fit

I managed to get everything into the suitcase, but it was a tight fit .

tight schedule (= including a lot of things that must be done in a short time )

I’m going to be working to a very tight schedule .

tight

The knot in my shoelaces is really tight.

tightly/tight shut

He went on sobbing, his eyes tight shut.

tight/rigid controls (= strict controls )

the introduction of tighter controls on immigration

tight/strict (= good security, so that something is very safe )

The event passed off peacefully, amid tight security.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

too

Make sure that stockings or tights as well as shoes are not too tight .

The head twists out as if the skin is wearing an old fashioned collar that's too tight for comfort.

Buying a size larger just because the shoes feel too tight only means a narrow shoe that slips off!

Jean-Paul glanced down at his own suit, which was too tight for him, and damned uncomfortable.

We wedged it in place firmly, but not too tight against the lintel, leaving room for adjustment.

Always wear the right clothing for the activity you choose - clothing worn too tight can hinder circulation.

up

You can lace up tight for the next couple of weeks and try to act normal.

He curled up tight and slept better than he had done all year.

You were rolled up tight as a mummy in canvas, then water was poured on it.

But he kept his mouth buttoned up tight .

Pike took off the peaked cap and tucked it inside his overall which he then zipped up tight to the neck.

Or paper bags tied up tight at the neck.

When fate marks you down for immortality you'd just better bite the bullet and lace your boots up tight .

■ NOUN

ball

She curled up in a tight ball as though to stop herself from breaking apart.

Frankie climbed into bed, curled himself into a tight ball and pulled the covers up over his head.

I crawl into my sleeping bag and curl up in a tight ball .

She could feel that the muscles in her stomach were clenched into a tight ball .

The Princesse crumpled the telegram into a tight ball .

budget

The government would end price controls and subsidies to industry, and impose tight budgets and curbs on welfare spending.

And, Tom was working on a tight budget .

We had a really tight budget and we feared the cost of turning it into a home was way beyond our means.

Some may experience considerable pressure to meet technical or scientific goals within a short time or within a tight budget .

Working on a tight budget , we opted for more on-board memory at the expense of a large capacity harddisk.

The panel wanted to make the new drugs accessible to poor Texans but was faced with a tight budget .

The competition set a fairly tight budget so Julia decided to mix second-hand clothes with new ones.

But because of the general economic climate, you may still feel as though you must manage on a tight budget .

control

At no time did the abbey relinquish to these groups any of its tight control over economic life.

Firecracker reacted to the tight control on his whereabouts by trying to elude his protectors.

But Ickes, through his tight control over time and money, is doing his bit too.

Margret Rey, who kept tight control over the vast franchise, died just before Christmas at the age of 90.

And keep a tight control of your budget.

Now, plainly, tighter controls on vehicles entering the City are essential.

The tight control on public sector pay is crucial and underlines the fact that the Government intends to practise what it preaches.

corner

However, the cover is very easily removed if you need to get into a tight corner .

The drivers roared round tight corners and skilfully navigated a twisty, bendy and muddy course.

They get the argument out of a tight corner , and make for a less fatalistic scenario.

However, employers could find themselves in a tight corner if they attempted to increase employee contributions or reduce benefits.

The plate can be moved from side to side and backwards for tight corners .

The moment he emerged on to a flat stretch of road after negotiating a particularly tight corner the explanation was obvious.

It was a typical women's downhill course: relatively low-speed, but extremely technical with tight corners .

And now here was I in a tight corner and was I going to use violence?

deadline

A strong background in quantitative analysis, careful attention to detail and an ability to work to tight deadlines are essential skills.

Thus he is confident of meeting the very tight deadlines for the Virgin order.

He interpreted Henry's wishes to the craftsmen and saw that tight deadlines were met.

Recruitment always operates to tight deadlines , such as catching the last post.

But working to scale from a cartoon drawing and meeting a tight deadline posed problems for the sculpture's designer.

end

Raiders owner Al Davis then switched Williams to tight end during training camp.

Rookie tight end Rickey Dudley has to be more involved with the passing game.

They throw to the tight end same way we do.

After finally agreeing to report to the Green Bay Packers, the tight end found himself a forgotten man.

Bucs tight end Jackie Harris sustained a groin pull and sat out the second half.

You could be a tight end , maybe a linebacker.

I made the move to tight end to help the team, and now I just want to contribute.

Johnson started the winning drive with a 16-yard completion to tight end Andrew Glover.

fit

After turning the Disc you have a tighter fit , but not necessarily a better one.

It was going to be a tight fit .

This tighter fit enables caffeine to plug the receptor, thus preventing adenosine from binding.

He got up as quickly as the tight fit of the table in the breakfast nook would allow.

We arrive in Paris, and make a tight fit into a tiny chambre de bonne in the Fifteenth Arrondissement.

grip

The humans had grown their winter coats, and the high buildings trembled in the tight grip of their stress equations.

Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.

The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.

The tight grip of the Gascon nobility on the Church served their dynastic interests well.

He got the ends of the belt around his hands and wound them into a good, tight grip .

In Pomerania this reaction took the form of an even tighter grip on the feudal peasantry and serfs of the great estates.

Outside in her car she kept a tight grip on herself, refusing to let her humiliation reduce her to tears.

Anybody who thought that Bath's tight grip on the Pilkington Cup was over had better think again.

hold

She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.

We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.

He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.

Philip gripped tight hold of Caspar's collar.

The tight hold was maintained by Thatcher's government.

For Winnie herself, it required the tightest hold , the fumes of the stuff, to keep her wits about her.

Keep tight hold and continue while there's time.

It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold .

knot

Ice-cold, shocked, her stomach a tight knot of abject terror, Polly gazed wildly around her.

He loosened the tight knot round his throat.

She sat there, eyes glowing, twisting her handkerchief into a tight knot .

She hurriedly tidied her hair, pulling it back until it hurt and securing the tight knot with pins.

There was a tight knot of anger in her stomach.

money

The combination of tight money and high debt is causing more than token distress.

The parallels with the years since 1988, also characterized by strong deflationary pressure and tight money , are apparent.

rein

Non-executive directors would keep executives on a tight rein .

Apart from anything else, it would be necessary to keep Hilary Todd on a tight rein .

I tend to keep a tight rein at first, and gradually relax as I get to know them.

Her only chance of survival, she felt, was to keep a tight rein over her feelings and words.

restriction

Mr Stoiber has been in the forefront of those calling for tighter restrictions on asylum-seekers and ordinary immigrants.

The rest will be open to exploration companies under tight restrictions .

But under a voluntary agreement, the parent retains parental responsibility, and tight restrictions should only apply in extreme circumstances.

schedule

It was an alarmingly tight schedule .

More than two-thirds were businessmen who travel on tight schedules and pay high fares.

Visiting a school in Doncaster in December 1989, Charles was on another very tight schedule , again with BitC.

The scrutiny process as a tight schedule and is in four parts: investigation; action plan; implementation; implementation report.

Construction only began in mid-October and recent heavy rains have hampered the already tight schedule .

Renwick fell silent, too, calculating the tight schedule ahead.

security

The promoters are promising tight security to prevent ravers leaving the site.

He was also starting to rebel against the tight security .

The confusions of war, the tight security covering the country, made communication difficult.

As I look back on it, the whole episode showed the need for tighter security screening.

Amid tight security , Francis Mullen and his younger brother James appeared before Liverpool city magistrates.

Statewide, $ 13 million was appropriated for tighter security at existing prisons.

Critics include the panel charged with reviewing how tighter security measures might affect freedoms and civil rights.

ship

There was no discipline problem there, to speak of, because the principal and teachers ran such a tight ship .

smile

I just smiled a tight smile.

John permitted himself a tight smile as he darted through the Strand's morning traffic.

The blonde struck a pose and fixed a tight smile on her immaculately made-up face.

She gives him a tight smile and wrinkles her nose.

As he stepped past Carson he gave a quick, tight smile of acknowledgement.

Only Jennifer White Dove replied to his greeting, with a tight smile .

There was a tight smile on her lips.

spot

I think also that three other Hearthwares shall come, in case we need to fight our way out of some tight spot .

He had been in many tight spots during his life, and guarding a warehouse did not trouble him unduly.

Eight extra bullets in a tight spot could mean the difference between life and death.

BThis is one of the tight spots of the restaurant business.

Drawbacks are the introduction of a bit more slop in the system and the potential for reduced access in tight spots .

Or a mite more forgiving in a tight spot ?

You're in a tight spot .

squeeze

Pausing just before stepping out into view, she absorbed the scene with a tight squeeze inside her heart.

Despite the tight squeeze , the office has graced Borrego Springs with a personal touch over the decades.

Voice over Once inside, it was clear just what a tight squeeze it would be.

It was a tight squeeze and she tore her jacket.

If you do it would be a tight squeeze for you all in Tom's house.

There were only ninety of them, but it was a tight squeeze .

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a (tight) squeeze

It'll be a tight squeeze , but you can ride in the back seat.

Democratic plans for Medicare rely mostly on putting a squeeze on health care providers, such as hospitals and doctors.

Descend steeply from Hor Point to a stile, then ascend to a squeeze gap.

His hand came out and took hold of her ankle, gave it a squeeze and a shake.

In summary, Warwickshire's batting is usually adequate as long as the bowlers are able to put a squeeze on the opposition.

Pausing just before stepping out into view, she absorbed the scene with a tight squeeze inside her heart.

She reached out a hand, gave mine a squeeze .

She slipped her hand into his, and he gave it a squeeze before he released it.

Whereas the bulk of industry faced higher costs and a squeeze on profits, the oil majors had a profit bonanza.

keep a tight rein on sb/sth

sit tight

Just sit tight - I'll be there in ten minutes.

You sit tight while I go and get some help.

You might want to sit tight a few months and see what happens to the stock market.

But Solomon sat tight in his rain barrel, and after the cossacks had left empty-handed, he made his escape.

He might just sit tight inside the castle.

Or the rabbits sit tight underground as they become cornered by the ferrets.

She is loath to encourage folks to sit tight.

Then city officials sat tight and hoped it would pay off.

Through the summer runup in technology stock prices, executives at the on-line service provider sat tight.

When an intruder approaches, the parents fly off and the chicks sit tight nomatterhow close it comes.

You could head back to the Cities, just sit tight.

sleep tight

Good night, kids. Sleep tight!

I don't sleep tight so that's all right.

With promises of endless ice cream when he awoke, Mama kissed her little son and bade him goodnight, sleep tight.

tight spot

BThis is one of the tight spots of the restaurant business.

Drawbacks are the introduction of a bit more slop in the system and the potential for reduced access in tight spots .

Eight extra bullets in a tight spot could mean the difference between life and death.

He had been in many tight spots during his life, and guarding a warehouse did not trouble him unduly.

I think also that three other Hearthwares shall come, in case we need to fight our way out of some tight spot .

Or a mite more forgiving in a tight spot ?

You're in a tight spot .

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

"Seat belt tight ? Good, this could be a rough ride."

a tight deadline

a tight skirt

Cover with a tight lid and refrigerate.

Her mother gave a tight , forced smile.

I've never been very good at reversing into tight parking spaces.

I don't wear my black dress very much. It's very tight around the waist.

I never wear tight clothes - I just don't feel comfortable in them.

If the straps aren't tight enough, the saddle can slip.

If your shirt collar's too tight , undo your top button.

Ken hasn't always been so tight with money.

Laws controlling the emission of greenhouse gases are not nearly tight enough.

Make sure the lid is tight enough so that it won't leak.

Money has been really tight because we had major car problems.

My chest was tight with tension.

My schedule is very tight right now, but I'll try to fit you in.

Security at the conference was extremely tight .

The planes approached in a tight grouping.

The report recommends tighter controls on the advertising of cigarettes.

The treaty would place tight limits on weapons testing.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

How else, they assume, but tight coordination and control to deal with so many moving parts?

I just smiled a tight smile.

Mr Stoiber has been in the forefront of those calling for tighter restrictions on asylum-seekers and ordinary immigrants.

She curled up in a tight ball as though to stop herself from breaking apart.

The humans had grown their winter coats, and the high buildings trembled in the tight grip of their stress equations.

Though unwelcome, this decline was predicted and planned for - and spending was therefore rightly under tight constraint in 1992.

II. adverb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ VERB

hold

I dozed off and on, as my mother held tight to the rope around my waist.

shut

She lay with her eyes tight shut and her mind held to a determined blank.

The doors leading into the halls of real political and economic power and influence were still shut tight against us.

He was sitting on the floor among the cracker wrappings and the crumbs, his shoulders shaking, his eyes tight shut .

Lily froze underneath him, her eyes tight shut .

They were shut tight , without a crack to see through.

She screwed her eyes tight shut , trying to forget the images of last night.

And still, the public schools are shut tight .

sit

Then city officials sat tight and hoped it would pay off.

But Solomon sat tight in his rain barrel, and after the cossacks had left empty-handed, he made his escape.

But unless you see some serious fanfare, sit tight .

She is loath to encourage folks to sit tight .

Sit tight , and hope that when they dry out the vinyl skin will tighten up again.

You could head back to the Cities, just sit tight .

Through the summer runup in technology stock prices, executives at the on-line service provider sat tight .

But if he could only sit tight , nothing at all would happen.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

Her eyes were shut tight as she screamed.

Sylvia handed me a large parcel, tightly wrapped in brown paper.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

Betty's hand was tight across her mouth now and she turned swiftly away and went back into the scullery.

Pack it tight , add basketball footage as dramatic as it is trite, and throw it into the Hollywood Plot Machine.

She lay with her eyes tight shut and her mind held to a determined blank.

She made his costume, cutting down a white linen shirt and fitting it tight up round the neck.

Through the summer runup in technology stock prices, executives at the on-line service provider sat tight .

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.