TIGHT


Meaning of TIGHT in English

I. ˈtīt, usu -īd.+V adjective

( -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English, alteration of thight, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse thēttr tight, close; akin to Old English mete thīht thick with food, Middle Low German & Middle High German dīhte close, thick, Gothic theihan to increase, progress, Middle Irish tēcht coagulated, Sanskrit tanakti it causes to coagulate; basic meaning: thick, thicken

1. : of firm compact texture : dense , solid

2. : so close in structure as not to permit passage of a liquid or gas : not slack or leaky : firm or solid in condition

a tight roof

as

a. : proof or proofed against the entry or exit of something expressed or implied

the ship was sound and tight

a tight cask

— usually used in combination

gas tight fitting

an air tight cover

b.

(1) : impervious to moisture : watertight

(2) : not giving free passage to water

tight clay soils are often wet and sour

c. : wet 11

d. : impervious to the activity or effect of

a hog- tight fence

3.

a. : fixed firmly or securely in place so as to be difficult to move

loosen a tight jar cover

a tight sticking door

the roots are very long and tight

b. : faithful , constant

4. : not slack or loose: as

a. : firmly stretched, drawn, or set : taut

a tight drumhead

the rope was tight and firm

b. : fitting closely and usually too closely (as for comfort or good taste)

a tight dress

a painfully tight shoe

c. of the respiratory passages : congested, constricted, or sometimes dehydrated so as to be partially occluded

her throat was tight with fear

the tight clogged nose of a bad head cold

d. : having the participants in close touch with one another

a tight formation in football

e. : excessively precise without breadth of treatment

a work of art that is unduly harsh and tight in treatment

5. chiefly dialect

a. : marked by energetic competence : capable , alert , ready

b. : marked by shapely graceful form : comely

c.

(1) : trim and tidy in dress

(2) : neat and orderly in arrangement or design : snug

6. : difficult to get through or out of : not readily coped with or circumvented : trying , exacting

in a tight corner for money

a good man in a tight situation

as

a. : firm in control : designed to master and maintain order

kept a tight hand on all his affairs

b. : unwilling to part with money or other possessions : miserly ; often : difficult to do business with because of this tendency

perfectly honest but tight in all his dealings

c. : evenly contested : close

a tight tennis match

tight play in a game

7. : packed or compressed to the limit : entirely full

a tight bale

as

a. : full of liquor : intoxicated , drunken

b. of language : highly condensed and often to the point of loss of fluency

a tight literary style

c. of printed matter

(1) : closely spaced

a tight line

(2) : so full as to make insertion of additional matter difficult

a tight page

(3) of a line : set to full measure and safe to lift

d. : having little space available for news usually because of large volume of advertising to be accommodated

a tight edition of a newspaper

e. : full 12a

8.

a. : scantily supplied or obtainable in proportion to demand : available only in inadequate amounts to meet existent needs

tight money is delaying construction

steel is very tight just now

— compare easy 2f(2)

b. : characterized by such a scarcity

a tight labor market

9. of lumber : sound in every way and free from ring shakes and checks

logs with tight hearts

Synonyms:

taut , tense : tight is likely to describe a snug binding together, a close drawing together of all parts, a confining constriction, or a cornering or squeezing together

a tight coat

forming tight ranks

a tight roof

shoelaces that were too tight

in a tight position

taut applies to what has been stretched or drawn out to the limit; in reference to persons taut may describe the effects of strain making a drain on nervous energy

pulling the ropes taut

her sails are loose, her tackles hanging, waiting men to seize and haul them taut — Amy Lowell

their look of horror as they stared up at me, eyes and mouths open and faces taut — Norman Cousins

tense calls attention strongly to a keyed-up, intent condition or to tension and strain

signalman, tense and alert, awaited the word to flash out orders by blinker — Alexander Forbes

yet she was, as always after a concert, tense and nervous, filled with a terrible energy which would not let her sleep until dawn — Louis Bromfield

he is tense, jittery — a mass of jangled nerves — his fingers tremble as he lights one cigarette after another — S.N.Behrman

Synonym: see in addition drunk , stingy .

II. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

1. obsolete : to make tight and especially watertight

2. chiefly dialect : to put in order : tidy — used with up

III. adverb

( -er/-est )

1. : tightly , firmly , hard

holding tight to the rail

the door was shut tight

2. chiefly dialect : soundly , vigorously , thoroughly

fell tight asleep

IV. noun

( -s )

: something that is tight: as

a. slang : a difficult or trying situation : a tight place

pulled him out of a tight — F.B.Gipson

b. : close forward play in rugby — often used with the ; contrasted with loose

packs which could hold their own with any, whether in the tight or loose — O.L.Owen

c.

(1) : a radio or television program that is barely held within time limits

(2) : a television close shot made with a narrow angle lens

V.

archaic

past of tie

VI. adjective

1. : marked by friendliness and compatibility : close

the Men's Alpine Ski Team is a tight bunch, surprisingly free of backbiting — Herbert Burkholz

2. : being or performing music in a polished style with precise arrangements

some favor tight playing, with crisply articulated notes, others open playing, generally faster and more flowing — Eleanor Blau

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.