tightfisted

adjective

tight·​fist·​ed ˈtīt-ˈfi-stəd How to pronounce tightfisted (audio)
: reluctant to part with money
tightfistedness noun

Examples of tightfisted in a Sentence

The company's tightfisted owner won't raise the workers' salaries. the company is pretty tightfisted when it comes to bonuses
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations. Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023 Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023 The other period that defined her time in power was Europe’s debt crisis, and her tightfisted prescription for long years of painful budget cuts as a way out of it — something many southern Europeans still have not forgiven her for more than a decade later. New York Times, 8 Dec. 2021 Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus. Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022 See all Example Sentences for tightfisted 

Word History

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tightfisted was in 1844

Dictionary Entries Near tightfisted

Cite this Entry

“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tightfisted. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

tightfisted

adjective
tight·​fist·​ed ˈtīt-ˈfis-təd How to pronounce tightfisted (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on tightfisted

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!