tightness
Also found in: Thesaurus, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
tight
(tīt)adj. tight·er, tight·est
1. Fixed or fastened firmly in place: a tight lid; tight screws; a tight knot.
2. Stretched or drawn out fully: a tight wire; a tight drumhead.
3. Of such close construction as to be impermeable: cloth tight enough to hold water; warm in our tight little cabin.
4.
a. Leaving little empty space through compression; compact: a tight suitcase; a tight weave.
b. Affording little spare time; full: a tight schedule.
5. Closely reasoned or concise: a tight argument; a tight style of writing.
6. Fitting close or too close to the skin; snug: a tight collar; a fit that was much too tight.
7. Slang Personally close; intimate: "me and the D.A., who happen to be very tight with one another" (Tom Wolfe).
8. Experiencing a feeling of constriction: a tight feeling in the chest.
9. Reluctant to spend or give; stingy.
10.
a. Obtainable with difficulty or only at a high price: tight money.
b. Affected by scarcity: a tight market.
11. Difficult to deal with or get out of: a tight spot.
12. Barely profitable: a tight bargain.
13. Closely contested; close: a tight match.
14. Chiefly British Neat and trim in appearance or arrangement.
15. Marked by full control over elements or subordinates; firm: tight management; a tight orchestral performance.
16. Slang Intoxicated; drunk.
17. Baseball Inside.
adv. tight·er, tight·est
1. Firmly; securely.
2. Soundly: sleep tight.
3. Snugly or with constriction: My shoes are laced too tight.
[Middle English, dense, of Scandinavian origin.]
tight′ly adv.
tight′ness n.
Synonyms: tight, taut, tense1
These adjectives mean not slack or loose on account of being pulled or drawn out fully: a tight skirt; taut sails; tense piano strings.
These adjectives mean not slack or loose on account of being pulled or drawn out fully: a tight skirt; taut sails; tense piano strings.
Usage Note: Tight is used as an adverb following verbs that denote a process of closure or constriction, as squeeze, shut, close, tie, and hold. In this use it is subtly distinct from the adverb tightly. Tight denotes the state resulting from the process, whereas tightly denotes the manner of its application. As such, tight is more appropriate when the focus is on a state that endures for some time after the activity has ended. The sentence She closed up the house tight suggests preparation for an impending blizzard. By the same token, it is more natural to say The windows were frozen tight than The windows were frozen tightly, since in this case the tightness of the seal is not likely to be the result of the manner in which the windows were frozen. With a few verbs tight is used idiomatically as an intensive and is the only possible form: sleep tight; sit tight. Tight can be used only following the verb: The house was shut tight (not tight shut). Before the verb, use tightly: The house was tightly shut.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | tightness - a state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit deficiency, lack, want - the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable; "there is a serious lack of insight into the problem"; "water is the critical deficiency in desert regions"; "for want of a nail the shoe was lost" |
2. | tightness - a tight feeling in some part of the body; "he felt a constriction in her chest"; "she felt an alarming tightness in her chest"; "emotion caused a constriction of his throat" feeling - a physical sensation that you experience; "he had a queasy feeling"; "I had a strange feeling in my leg"; "he lost all feeling in his arm" | |
3. | tightness - the spatial property of being crowded together spatial arrangement, spacing - the property possessed by an array of things that have space between them | |
4. | tightness - extreme stinginess minginess, niggardliness, niggardness, tightfistedness, meanness, parsimoniousness, parsimony, closeness stinginess - a lack of generosity; a general unwillingness to part with money miserliness - total lack of generosity with money | |
5. | tightness - lack of movement or room for movement immovability, immovableness - not capable of being moved or rearranged |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
إحْكام، شَد
strohosttěsnost
stramhed
kifeszülésszorosan zár ás
òéttleiki; harka
tesnosť
sıkılık
tightness
[ˈtaɪtnɪs] N1. [of clothes] (comfortable) → lo ceñido, lo ajustado; (uncomfortable) → estrechez f; [of shoes] → estrechez f; [of lid, screw] → lo apretado
2. [of muscle, throat] → tensión f
I can feel a tightness in my chest → siento una opresión en el pecho
I can feel a tightness in my chest → siento una opresión en el pecho
4. [of bend, corner] → lo cerrado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
tightness
n
(= stiffness: of screw, bolt) → Festsitzen nt, → Unbeweglichkeit f; the tightness of the drawer/window → das Klemmen der Schublade/des Fensters
(= firmness, of screw, tap) → fester Sitz; (of window) → Dichtheit f; (of control, discipline, security) → Strenge f; (of organization) → Straffheit f; the tightness of his embrace → seine feste Umarmung
(of schedule) → Knappheit f
(= closeness: of race, match) → Knappheit f
(= constriction: in chest, stomach) → Beengtheit f
(inf, = drunkenness) → Besoffenheit f (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
tightness
[ˈtaɪtnɪs] n (of lid, screw) → resistenza; (of discipline) → rigore m; (of regulations) → rigidità f invyou should have seen the tightness of her trousers! → avresti dovuto vedere com'erano stretti i suoi pantaloni!
I can feel a tightness in my chest → ho un senso di oppressione al torace
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
tight
(tait) adjective1. fitting very or too closely. I couldn't open the box because the lid was too tight; My trousers are too tight.
2. stretched to a great extent; not loose. He made sure that the ropes were tight.
3. (of control etc) strict and very careful. She keeps (a) tight control over her emotions.
4. not allowing much time. We hope to finish this next week but the schedule's a bit tight.
adverb (also ˈtightly) closely; with no extra room or space. The bags were packed tight / tightly packed.
-tight sealed so as to keep (something) in or out, as in airtight, *watertight ˈtighten verb
to make or become tight or tighter.
ˈtightness nountights noun plural
a close-fitting (usually nylon or woollen) garment covering the feet, legs and body to the waist. She bought three pairs of tights.
ˌtight-ˈfisted adjective mean and ungenerous with money. a tight-fisted employer.
ˈtightrope noun a tightly-stretched rope or wire on which acrobats balance.
a tight corner/spot a difficult position or situation. His refusal to help put her in a tight corner/spot.
tighten one's belt to make sacrifices and reduce one's standard of living. If the economy gets worse, we shall just have to tighten our belts.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.