See Also: tight(1)(dictionary)
Tight(finance)
Sit tight(money)
Sit tight(finance)
Tight(money)
tight(2)(dictionary)
Tight Money(money)
Tight Ship(money)
Tight market(money)
Tight market(finance)

tight(1) (iou)



tight adjective, adverb, & noun. ME.
[Prob. alt. of THIGHT.]
A. adjective.
a. Of a person: orig. (rare), physically fit, healthy; later, vigorous, capable, admirable. obsolete exc. Scot. & dial. ME.
b. Neatly arranged or dressed; trim, smart; of a neat compact build, shapely. arch. & dial. L17.
= THIGHT 1. rare. Only in LME.
= THIGHT 4. rare. LME-L18.
Of such close texture or construction as to be impervious to a (specified) fluid etc., impermeable. Freq. as 2nd elem. of comb. LME.
air-tight, gas-tight, watertight, etc.
G. Berkeley A tight house..and wholesome food.
b. spec. Of a ship: well caulked, not leaky, watertight. M16.
c. transf. & fig. Uncommunicative; secret; spec. in the Oil Industry, (of a well) about which little information is released. M17.
d. Of a building: well-insulated or sealed against heat loss etc.; poorly ventilated. L20.
Firmly fixed or fastened in place; securely put together; not easily moved; fig. faithful, steadfast, constant. E16.
Automobile Engineer Seam welding..can be adopted..when a tight joint is required.
b. On terms of close friendship, intimate. US slang. M20.
Of a rope, surface, etc.: drawn or stretched so as to be tense, not loose or slack, taut. L16.
S. Wynter Hair scraped back into a tight bun. Practical Health A tourniquet (tight band round the limb).
b. fig. Strict, stringent; severe. L19.
Daily Telegraph Tight Whitehall control over life in Britain. B. Moore Security was tight for the hotel had been bombed last year.
c. Of an organization, (esp. popular music) group or member, etc.: strict, disciplined, well coordinated. M20.
Produced by or requiring great exertion or pressure; difficult to deal with or manage (esp. in tight corner, tight spot, tight squeeze, etc., a position of difficulty). M18.
A. Hopkins Wondering how the hero is going to get out of a tight situation.
Of a garment etc.: fitting closely, tight-fitting. Also, fitting too closely. L18.
P. Haines A pencil skirt so tight she could barely walk.
b. Of a person: tough, hard; aggressive. US dial. & slang. E20.
c. Of ground etc.: allowing little room for manoeuvre, lacking space. Of a turn, curve, etc.: having a short radius. M20.
a. Of a contest: close. Of a bargain: with little margin of profit. E19.
Greyhound Star The final..saw the tightest of finishes.
b. Of a person: mean, stingy. colloq. E19.
c. Of money, materials, etc.: not easily obtainable, scarce. Of a money market etc.: in which money is scarce. Of a person: poor, hard up, (dial. & slang). E19.
S. Eldred-Grigg The Stevensons laid the old man off and money was tight for a while. C. Phillips Long-haired, haversacked..and clinging to a tight budget.
Drunk, tipsy. colloq. M19.
a. Closely packed; close together. Also (Sport), keeping the opposition contained and allowing them little chance to score. M19.
Royal Air Force Journal They lived in dread of our fighters, and..kept a tight formation.
b. Of language, art, etc.: terse, concise, condensed; well-structured; cramped, inhibited. L19.
Scientific American This small book of tight argument.
c. Of a schedule etc.: packed with engagements; demanding. Of time, space, etc.: limited, restricted. M20.
T. Parks I have an awfully tight deadline on this rubbish I'm writing.
Phrases: tight as a tick: see TICK noun1. ton tight, tun tight the space occupied by a tun cask of wine, used as a measure of a ship's capacity or tonnage.
b. adverb.
Tightly, in a tight manner. L17.
sit tight remain in one's seat; maintain one's position or point of view firmly. sleep tight: see SLEEP verb.
T. L. Cuyler The tighter I clung the safer I felt.
as tight as , as quickly or rapidly as . Cf. TITE adverb. US dial. M19.
Close up to, after, or on. dial. & colloq. L19.
Special collocations & comb. (of adjective & adverb): tight-ass slang (chiefly N. Amer.) an inhibited, strait-laced, or (occas.) stingy person. tight-assed adjective (slang, chiefly N. Amer.) inhibited, strait-laced, excessively conventional; occas., stingy, mean. tight back Bookbinding a book with a cover stuck directly to its spine. tight barrel, tight cask a barrel for liquids. tight building syndrome = sick building syndrome s.v. SICK adjective. tight cask: see tight barrel above. tight corner: see sense A.7 above. tight end Amer. Football (the position of) an offensive end who lines up close to the tackle. tight-fisted adjective mean, parsimonious, stingy. tight-fitting adjective (of a garment etc.) fitting (too) close to the body. tight head Rugby Football (the position of) the prop forward supporting the hooker on the opposite side of the scrum from the loose head. tight junction Cytology a specialized connection of two adjacent animal cell membranes such that the space usually lying between them is absent. tight-laced adjective (a) that is laced tightly; Hist. (constricted by) wearing tightly laced stays; (b) fig. excessively strict concerning morality or propriety, strait-laced. tight-lacing the action or process of lacing tightly; spec. (Hist.) the practice of wearing tightly laced stays to reduce or preserve the form of the waist. tight-lipped adjective having the lips firmly closed, esp. to restrain emotion or speech; determinedly reticent or uncommunicative, severe. tight ship: see SHIP noun 1. tight spot, tight squeeze: see sense A.7 above. tightwad slang (chiefly N. Amer.) a mean or miserly person.
C. noun.
In pl.
a. Tight-fitting breeches worn by men in the 18th and 19th cents. and still forming part of ceremonial court dress. E19.
b. A woman's or girl's one-piece close-fitting stretchable undergarment of wool, nylon, etc., covering the legs and lower torso and worn in place of stockings. Also, a similar garment worn by dancers, acrobats, etc. M19.
a. ellipt. An awkward situation, a tight spot. Chiefly in in a tight. US dial. & colloq. L19.
b. Rugby Football. = SCRUM noun 1. Chiefly in in the tight. E20.
tightish adjective & adverb somewhat tight(ly) M18.

598816