tight-ass

noun

chiefly US slang
: a rigidly straitlaced, conventional, or inhibited person
As Indiana warmed up, Wilkerson noticed Bo Ellis, Marquette's star forward, pointing to the Hoosiers' retro warmups and laughing. Clearly, this game matched the cool dudes from Milwaukee against the tight-asses from Bloomington.Jack McCallum
tight-assed adjective
Like the schoolteachers who had tormented their childhoods, earnest and tight-assed, humorless and self-righteous. Robert Stone

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tight-ass was in 1971

Dictionary Entries Near tight-ass

Cite this Entry

“Tight-ass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tight-ass. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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