airtight

See also: air-tight and air tight

English

Alternative forms

• air-tight
• air tight

Etymology

From air +‎ tight.

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

     She creates an airtight world of her imagining.

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

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.

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
• 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)