tight-lipped

adjective

1
: having the lips closed tight (as in determination)
2
: reluctant to speak : taciturn

Examples of tight-lipped in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Google’s chatbot is getting tight-lipped on election questions Out of an abundance of caution, Google said that its Gemini chatbot ain’t answering some questions that voters in two of the world’s largest democracies — the U.S. and India — may pose ahead of their respective elections this year. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 Cloud's costar Colman Domingo, who won an Emmy for portraying Rue’s sponsor Ali, recently told PEOPLE in a January interview that the show's behind-the-scenes players have been tight-lipped about what’s to come. Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 Since then, zoo officials have been tight-lipped about plans for welcoming back pandas, which were last at the zoo in 2019. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024 Although police and school officials remain tight-lipped, activists and trans students have blamed Benedict’s death and poor treatment on Oklahoma’s antagonistic policies surrounding transgender students. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2024 At his pre-match press conference on Saturday, Ancelotti was asked about this development but remained tight-lipped. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 The Macallan is pretty tight-lipped about the makeup of the whisky and won’t reveal age range or exact maturation details, but whisky maker Steven Bremner says that it was aged in a combination of European and American oak sherry-seasoned casks and refill casks. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024 The switch is widely-expected, but Ancelotti remained tight-lipped on the matter when pushed to comment early on Saturday afternoon in Spain. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024 The couple are typically tight-lipped about their personal lives, but in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Nasha Smith, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tight-lipped.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tight-lipped was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near tight-lipped

Cite this Entry

“Tight-lipped.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tight-lipped. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tight-lipped

adjective
-ˈlipt
1
: having the lips closed tight (as in determination)
2
: not liking to speak : taciturn
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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