- closely and strongly; tightly
- Hold tight!
- My suitcase was packed tight.
- His fists were clenched tight.
- She hugged him tight.
Which Word? tight / tightlytight / tightly- Tight and tightly are both adverbs that come from the adjective tight. They have the same meaning, but tight is often used instead of tightly after a verb, especially in informal language, and in compounds:
- packed tight
- a tight-fitting lid.
- Tightly can be used before or after a verb:
- These snakes kill their prey by tightly coiling their bodies around them.
- He screwed the lid on tightly.
- clusters of tightly packed flowers
Extra Examples- He held his children tight.
- Shut your eyes tight.
- His jaw was clenched tight.
- You didn't tie it tight enough.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘healthy, vigorous’, later ‘firm, solid’): probably an alteration of thight ‘firm, solid’, later ‘close-packed, dense’, of Germanic origin; related to German dicht ‘dense, close’.
Idioms
See tight in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarysit tight
- to stay where you are rather than moving away or changing position
- We sat tight and waited to be rescued.
- to stay in the same situation, without changing your mind or taking any action
- Shareholders are being advised to sit tight until the crisis passes.
sleep tight
- (informal) used especially to children before they go to bed to say that you hope they sleep well
- Goodnight, sleep tight!
Check pronunciation:
tight