tightwad

T1I1G2H4T1W4A1D2

noun

One who is stingy; someone overly cautious or defensive with money.

“That tightwad would drive ten miles to save a few cents on gas.”

Similar
frugalmiserskinflintcheapskate
Opposite
spendthrift
UncommonScrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

tightwad1

nountightwad (plural tightwads)

plural tightwads

  1. colloquialderogatoryOne who is stingy; someone overly cautious or defensive with money.

    That tightwad would drive ten miles to save a few cents on gas.

    1 more example

    He gulps down the hot coffee and leaves a nice fat tip. No one can say he's a tightwad.

    1966, Burt Blechman, Stations, published 1969, page 40

    Synonyms: frugal, miser, skinflint

Tightwad2

proper noun
  1. A village in Missouri.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounOne who is stingy; someone overly cautious or defensive with money.

Similar
frugalmiserskinflint
Opposite
spendthrift

More synonyms by meaning

nouna miserly person

Similar
cheapskate
Broader
miser
Also see
carlcheapocheapskatefrugalmiserskinflint

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From tight + wad.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tightwad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tightwad

MLA

“tightwad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tightwad. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tightwad,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tightwad.

Source: tightwad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.