English dictionary

tight Meaning & Definition

Q: What is the past tense of tight?

The past tense of tight is tighted. The present participle is tighting.

Q: What are the comparative and superlative forms of tight?

The comparative form is tighter and the superlative form is tightest.

/taɪt/

What Does Tight Mean?

As an adjective, tight means Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open. It can also mean Unyielding or firm. As an adverb, it means Firmly, so as not to come loose easily. As a verb, it means To make tight; tighten.

Tight: Key Facts

Part of speech	adjective, adverb, verb
Pronunciation	/taɪt/
Synonyms	besotted, mean and close
Antonyms	loose, leaky and relaxed
Comparative / superlative	tighter, tightest
Verb forms	tights, tighting, tighted

Tight Definition (Adjective)

Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
a tight sponge; a tight knot
Unyielding or firm.
tight control on a situation
Under high tension; taut.
Make sure to pull the rope tight.
Scarce, hard to come by.
I grew up in a poor neighborhood; money was very tight, but we made do.
Intimate, close, close-knit, intimately friendly.
We've grown tighter over the years.
Miserly or frugal.
He's a bit tight with his money.
Short of money.
Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
The passageway was so tight we could barely get through.
Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
tight clothing; a tight coat; My socks are too tight.
Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.
The mountain pass was made dangerous by its many tight corners.
Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
Close, very similar in a value such as score or time.
Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
Their marching band is extremely tight.
Not conceding many goals.
Intoxicated; drunk.
We went drinking and got tight.
Extraordinarily great or special.
That is one tight bicycle!
Mean; unfair; unkind.
Limited or restricted.
We had a very tight schedule.
Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.
Handy; adroit; brisk.
Of a player, who plays very few hands.
He is a very tight player and folds over 80% of his hands.
Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands.
The tight-aggressive poker strategy requires folding a lot of hands, but betting big when playing them.
With understeer, primarily used to describe NASCAR stock cars.
Angry or irritated.
Of a person, having a tight vagina or anus.

Tight as an Adverb

Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.
Hold on tight to the rope.
Soundly.
Good night, sleep tight.

Tight as a Verb

To make tight; tighten.
To make water-tight.

Antonyms of Tight

Tight in a Sentence

a tight sponge; a tight knot

Pull your seatbelts tight before takeoff.

tight control on a situation

Make sure to pull the rope tight.

I grew up in a poor neighborhood; money was very tight, but we made do.

We've grown tighter over the years.

He's a bit tight with his money.

The passageway was so tight we could barely get through.

They flew in a tight formation.

tight clothing; a tight coat; My socks are too tight.

The mountain pass was made dangerous by its many tight corners.

Their marching band is extremely tight.

We went drinking and got tight.

That is one tight bicycle!

We had a very tight schedule.

He is a very tight player and folds over 80% of his hands.

The tight-aggressive poker strategy requires folding a lot of hands, but betting big when playing them.

Hold on tight to the rope.

Good night, sleep tight.

Word Forms & Grammar

tight (comparative tighter, superlative tightest)

tight (third-person singular simple present tights, present participle tighting, simple past and past participle tighted)

Words That Rhyme With Tight

Origin of Tight

Origin 1: 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”).

Origin 2: Cognate with Scots ticht, West Frisian ticht, Danish tæt, Icelandic þéttur (“dense”), Norwegian tett, Swedish tät, Dutch dicht (“dense”), German dicht (“dense”).

Origin 3: 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-).

Origin 4: From Middle English tighten, thyhten (“to make tight”); see tighten.

Tight: Your Questions Answered

Is tight an adjective or an adverb?

Tight is mainly used as an adjective, but it can also be used as an adverb and a verb.

What is another word for tight?

Words with a similar meaning to tight include besotted, mean and close. See the full list of tight synonyms and antonyms.