吃緊

in short supply / dire / tense / critical / hard-pressed / important

to eat / to consume / to eat at (a cafeteria etc) / to eradicate / to destroy / to absorb / to suffer / to stammer (Taiwan pr. for this sense is [ji2])

variant of 吃[chi1]

tight / strict / close at hand / near / urgent / tense / hard up / short of money / to tighten