different between tight vs compact

English

Etymology

From Middle English tight, tyght, ty?t, tiht, variants of thight, thiht, from Old English *þ?ht, *þiht (attested in meteþiht) and Old Norse þéttr, both from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tenkt- (“dense, thick, tight”), from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch, pull”). Cognate with Scots ticht, West Frisian ticht, Danish tæt, Icelandic þéttur (“dense”), Norwegian tett, Swedish tät, Dutch dicht (“dense”), German dicht (“dense”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?t, IPA^(key): /ta?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Adjective

tight (comparative tighter, superlative tightest)

1. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
   1. Unyielding or firm.

   2. Under high tension; taut.
   3. (colloquial) Scarce, hard to come by.

   4. (colloquial, figuratively) Intimately friendly.

   5. (slang, figuratively, usually derogatory) Miserly or frugal.

2. (of a space, design or arrangement) Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
   2. Fitting close, or too close, to the body.

   3. Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.

   4. Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
      • 1965, MotorBoating, page 145

        He reported the hull was tight and secure and did not leak a drop.

      • 2014, Ian Black, "Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian, 27 November:

        Security is tight inside and outside the building, guarded by a bewildering collection of soldiers, policemen and gendarmes. Relatives watch as prisoners in handcuffs and leg irons shuffle past.

3. Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
   1. (sports) Not conceding many goals.
      • 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October 2014:

        The odd thing was that Sunderland made the better start and showed early signs that they might pose serious problems to the Premier League’s tightest defence.

4. (slang) Intoxicated; drunk or acting like being drunk.
   • 1940, Effie Butler, Misbehaving Husbands:

     I'm going to celebrate my divorce! And then I'm going to get tight.

   • 2001, Gaelic Storm, Johnny Tarr (on the album Tree):

     Johnny walked into the Castle Bar, looking to get tight.

5. (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.

6. (slang, British (regional)) Mean; unfair; unkind.
   • 1977, Willy Russell, Our Day Out, Act One, Scene One:

     Reilly: Ey, Miss, hang on, hang on... can we come with y', Miss? Can we?

     Digga: Go on, Miss, don't be tight, let's come.

   • 2001, Kevin Sampson, Outlaws, p.244:

     "Ah leave him, ay!" goes one of the girls. "Don't be tight." I turns to her. "Don't you think it's tight terrorising old ladies? Ay?"

   • 2011, Andrew Hicks, "Thai Girl: A story of the one who said 'no'", unnumbered page:

     "That's right ... so even when life's a grind, the Thais keep smiling. They think the farang are a miserable lot who have to get drunk to enjoy themselves."

     "Dutch, that's tight mate, I mean what's wrong with getting pissed. When you're not working, you gotta have a good time," said Darren.

7. (obsolete) Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.

   • clad very plain, but clean and tight

   • 1714, John Gay, The What D'ye Call It

     I'll spin and card, and keep our children tight.

   • 1887, W. S. Gilbert, Ruddigore

     Richard: But here she comes! [...] (Enter Rose — he is much struck by her.) By the Port Admiral, but she's a tight little craft!

   • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband […] from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.

8. (obsolete) Handy; adroit; brisk.
9. (poker) Of a player, who plays very few hands. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
10. (poker) Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

• (firmly held together): close, serried (of ranks); see also Thesaurus:tight
• (pushed/pulled together): crowded, dense; see also Thesaurus:compact
• (under high tension): taut, tense, under tension; see also Thesaurus:taut
• (miserly or frugal): niggardly, parsimonious; see also Thesaurus:stingy
• (narrow): narrow; see also Thesaurus:narrow
• (fitting close to the body): figure-hugging, snug, tight-fitting; see also Thesaurus:close-fitting
• (well-rehearsed and accurate): polished, precise; see also Thesaurus:meticulous
• (intimately friendly): close, close-knit, intimate
• (slang: intoxicated): blotto, plastered; see also Thesaurus:drunk
• (slang: extraordinarily great or special): ace, cool, fab, rad, slick; see also Thesaurus:excellent
• (slang: mean; unfair; unkind): see also Thesaurus:mean
• (not ragged): ruly, shipshape, trim; see also Thesaurus:orderly
• (handy; adroit; brisk): crafty, dexterous, skilful; see also Thesaurus:skilled

Antonyms

• (firmly held together): baggy (of clothing or other material), loose, sagging, saggy, slack; see also Thesaurus:loose
• (pushed/pulled together):
• (under high tension): loose, relaxed, slack; see also Thesaurus:careless
• (miserly or frugal): generous, prodigal, scattergood; see also Thesaurus:generous or Thesaurus:prodigal
• (narrow): broad, capacious, open, roomy, spacious, wide; see also Thesaurus:wide
• (well-rehearsed and accurate): slack, slapdash, sloppy
• (slang: intoxicated): clearheaded, on the wagon; see also Thesaurus:sober
• (slang: extraordinarily great or special): crap, naff, pathetic, rubbish; see also Thesaurus:bad
• (slang: mean; unfair; unkind): nice, pleasant; see also Thesaurus:kindly
• (not ragged): unruly, messy; see also Thesaurus:disorderly
• (handy; adroit; brisk): bungling, maladroit, unskilful; see also Thesaurus:unskilled

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

tight (comparative tighter, superlative tightest)

1. Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.

   Make sure the lid is closed tight.
2. Soundly.

   Good night, sleep tight.

Synonyms

• (firmly): fast, firmly, securely
• (soundly): soundly, well

Antonyms

• (firmly): loosely
• (soundly): badly, fitfully

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

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

1. (obsolete) To tighten.

Danish

Etymology

From English tight. Doublet of tæt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tajt/, [?t??jd?]

Adjective

tight (plural and definite singular attributive tighte)

1. tight (of cloths, finances, schedules)

   Synonym: stram

2. (music) tight (keeping time and with musical understanding)

References

• “tight” in Den Danske Ordbog

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English tight.

Noun

tight m (invariable)

1. morning suit, morning dress

English

Pronunciation

• Noun:
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?m?pækt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /?k?m?pækt/
• Adjective:
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /k?m?pækt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /k?m?pækt/, /?k?m?pækt/
• Verb:
  • (US, UK) IPA^(key): /k?m?pækt/

Etymology 1

From Latin compactum (“agreement”).

Noun

compact (plural compacts)

1. An agreement or contract.

   Synonyms: agreement, contract, pact, treaty

Translations

Verb

compact (third-person singular simple present compacts, present participle compacting, simple past and past participle compacted)

1. (intransitive) To form an agreement or contract.
   • 2004, Ronan Deazley, On the Origin of the Right to Copy (page 94)

     In return for the sovereign's protection, they compacted to police the content of public literature.

Etymology 2

From Middle French [Term?], from Latin comp?ctus, perfect passive participle of comping? (“join together”), from com- (“together”) + pang? (“fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *pag- (“to fasten”).

Adjective

compact (comparative more compact, superlative most compact)

1. Closely packed, i.e. packing much in a small space.

   Synonyms: concentrated, crowded, dense, serried; see also Thesaurus:compact

   Hyponym: ultracompact
2. Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.

3. (mathematics, not comparable, of a set in an Euclidean space) Closed and bounded.

4. (topology, not comparable, of a set) Such that every open cover of the given set has a finite subcover.
5. Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose.

6. (obsolete) Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.

   • 1622, Henry Peacham (Junior), The Compleat Gentleman

     a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together

7. (obsolete) Composed or made; with of.

Derived terms

• compact disc
• locally compact

Translations

Noun

compact (plural compacts)

1. A small, slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powderpuff; that fits into a woman's purse or handbag, or that slips into one's pocket.
2. A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
   • 2012, BBC News: Dundee Courier makes move to compact [2]:

     The Dundee Courier has announced the newspaper will be relaunching as a compact later this week. Editor Richard Neville said a "brighter, bolder" paper would appear from Saturday, shrunk from broadsheet to tabloid size.

Translations

Verb

compact (third-person singular simple present compacts, present participle compacting, simple past and past participle compacted)

1. (transitive) To make more dense; to compress.
2. To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.

Synonyms

• (make more dense): compress, condense; see also Thesaurus:compress

Translations

See also

• Compact (cosmetics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• accompt

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French compact, from Latin comp?ctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?m?p?kt/
• Hyphenation: com?pact
• Rhymes: -?kt

Adjective

compact (comparative compacter, superlative compactst)

1. compact (closely packed), dense
2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Inflection

Derived terms

• compactheid

French

Etymology

From Latin comp?ctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.pakt/

Adjective

compact (feminine singular compacte, masculine plural compacts, feminine plural compactes)

1. compact (closely packed), dense
2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Derived terms

• disque compact

Noun

compact m (plural compacts)

1. compact disc
2. music center (US), music centre (UK)
3. compact camera

Synonyms

• (compact disc): Compact Disc, disque compact

Further reading

• “compact” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Romanian

Etymology

From French compact, from Latin compactus.

Adjective

compact m or n (feminine singular compact?, masculine plural compac?i, feminine and neuter plural compacte)

1. compact

Declension