airtight

See also: air-tight and air tight

English

Alternative forms

• air-tight
• air tight

Etymology

From air +‎ tight.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

airtight (comparative more airtight, superlative most airtight)

1. Impermeable to air or other gases.
   • 2024 September 18, Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, “Tupperware Files for Bankruptcy Amid Declining Sales and Growing Competition”, in Time‎^[1]:

     Tupperware founder Earl Tupper in 1946 introduced its plastic products to the public, and subsequently patented their flexible airtight seal.

2. (figuratively) Having no weak points or flaws.

   We have an airtight argument they won’t be able to punch holes in.

   • 1990 April 28, Patricia Roth Schwartz, “The Odd Couple”, in Gay Community News, page 7:

     She creates an airtight world of her imagining.

3. (figuratively, of a person) Highly reserved in some matter, particularly tight-lipped or tight-fisted.
   • 1908, The Plumbers Trade Journal, Plumbers’ Trade Journal Publishing Company, volume 44:

     when Roger asked for $100 to take the preliminary steps to establish his claim, Mike yelled like a Hebrew auctioneer, for he was air-tight and squeezed a dollar until the woman on it yelled.

   • 1915 April, Annals of Iowa, Historical Department of Iowa, series 3, volume 12, page 599:

     He was ‘air-tight,’ close-mouthed, and had but few confidants or intimate friends, but numerous acquaintances.

4. (figuratively, pornography, of a person) Triply penetrated simultaneously in the vagina, anus and mouth.

Synonyms

• (impermeable to air): hermetic

Antonyms

• breathable
• transpirable

Derived terms

• airtighten
• airtightly
• airtightness
• nonairtight

Related terms

• coldtight, cold-tight
• drafttight, draft-tight
• draughttight, draught-tight
• driptight, drip-tight
• dusttight, dust-tight
• gastight, gas-tight
• heattight, heat-tight
• jointtight, joint-tight
• leaktight, leak-tight
• lighttight, light-tight
• liquidtight, liquid-tight
• oiltight, oil-tight
• pressuretight, pressure-tight
• raintight, rain-tight
• sandtight, sand-tight
• soiltight, soil-tight
• thoughttight, thought-tight
• watertight, water-tight
• weathertight, weather-tight

Translations

impermeable to air or other gases

• Belarusian: герметы́чны (hjermjetýčny), паветранепраніка́льны (pavjetranjepranikálʹny)
• Catalan: hermètic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 氣密的 / 气密的 (zh) (qìmì de), 密封的 (zh) (mìfēng de)

• Danish: lufttæt (da)
• Dutch: luchtdicht (nl), hermetisch (nl)
• Esperanto: hermetika
• Estonian: õhukindel, hermeetiline
• Finnish: ilmatiivis (fi), hermeettinen (fi), kaasutiivis
• French: hermétique (fr), étanche (fr)
• German: luftdicht (de), hermetisch (de)
• Greek: αεροστεγής (el) (aerostegís)
• Icelandic: loftþéttur
• Irish: aerdhíonach, aerobach, aeriata
• Italian: ermetico (it) m
• Japanese: 気密の (ja) (きみつの, kimitsu no), 密閉の (ja) (みっぺいの, mippei no)
• Macedonian: херме́тичен (hermétičen), воздухонепро́пустлив (vozduhoneprópustliv)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lufttett

  Nynorsk: lufttett

• Polish: szczelny (pl), powietrznoszczelny (rare)
• Portuguese: hermético (pt), impermeável (pt)
• Russian: гермети́чный (ru) (germetíčnyj), воздухонепроница́емый (ru) (vozduxonepronicájemyj)
• Slovene: zrakotesen m
• Spanish: hermético (es)
• Swedish: lufttät (sv), hermetisk (sv)
• Tagalog: luom
• Ukrainian: гермети́чний (hermetýčnyj), повітронепроникни́й (povitronepronyknýj)

having no weak points or flaws

• Catalan: hermètic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無破綻的 / 无破绽的 (wú pòzhàn de), 嚴密的 / 严密的 (zh) (yánmì de)

• Dutch: sluitend (nl), onweerlegbaar (nl)
• Finnish: pitävä (fi), vedenpitävä
• French: en béton
• German: hieb- und stichfest (de), wasserdicht (de)
• Greek: αρραγής (el) (arragís)
• Icelandic: óhrekjandi
• Irish: doshéanta, cruinn
• Portuguese: inexpugnável (pt)