watertight

comparative more watertight · superlative most watertight · alternative water-tight

1. So tightly made that water cannot enter or escape.

   What a day, eh? Demmy, it's like the commencement of the rainy season in Bengal. But you'll find my carriage is watertight. Come along, my mother and Emmy are in the vestry.

   1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

   1 more example

   There is no reference to rough weather, and, indeed, the state of the vessel’s paint and rigging excludes the idea that she was abandoned for any such reason. She is perfectly watertight.

   1890 March 6, Arthur Conan Doyle, “J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement”, in The Captain of the Polestar and Other Tales, Longmans, Green & Co

   Synonyms: waterfast, waterproof, impervious, impermeable

2. figurativelySo devised or planned as to be impossible to defeat, evade or nullify.

   a watertight alibi

   5 more examples

   a watertight contract

   a watertight regulation

   While the Nationwide League suffer the consequences of not having negotiated a watertight agreement with ITV Digital, the Premier League can be excused a smug smile of satisfaction over the deal they struck with the fallen digital company.

   2002 July 21, Jon Henderson, “Watertight deal saves League”, in The Observer

   David Cameron has said his EU deal will be legally binding and watertight, after a senior European politician claimed countries could simply undo it after the UK voted to remain in the union.

   2016 February 5, Rowena Mason, “David Cameron: EU deal will be legally binding”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   What if England's defence is finally examined to the full by class opposition at the Euros? Can this rearguard be trusted to remain watertight and protect what a high-quality attack can give them?

   2021 March 31, Phil McNulty, “England 2-1 Poland: What shape are Gareth Southgate's side in?”, in BBC Sport