closefisted

or close-fisted

[ klohs-fis-tid ]

adjective

1. stingy; miserly; tight.

   Synonyms: tight-fisted, penurious

Other Words From

• closefisted·ly adverb
• closefisted·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of closefisted¹

First recorded in 1565–75; close + fist ¹ + -ed ³

Example Sentences

The best example was the Pullman Sleeping Car strike of 1894, which was provoked by the monstrously closefisted George Pullman and was poised to expand into a nationwide rail strike.

From Los Angeles Times

It might have been nice to have had more respite to appreciate Mays’s closefisted Scrooge, his liberal Cratchit and sweet Fan.

From New York Times

These games are going to be tightfisted and closefisted.

From Seattle Times

He was naturally a closefisted man, and bad business had made him more miserly than ever.

From Project Gutenberg

Whatever an air of indifference he would assume in his grandee role of "art collector," yet in most other matters he was inveterately closefisted.

From Project Gutenberg