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high
[ hahy ]
adjective
- having a great or considerable extent or reach upward or vertically; lofty; tall:
a high wall.
Antonyms: low
- having a specified extent upward:
The apple tree is now 20 feet high.
- situated above the ground or some base; elevated:
a high platform;
a high ledge.
- exceeding the common degree or measure; strong; intense:
high speed;
high color.
- expensive; costly; dear:
The price of food these days is much too high.
- exalted in rank, station, eminence, etc.; of exalted character or quality:
a high official;
high society.
Synonyms: distinguished, prominent, eminent, elevated
- Music.
- acute in pitch.
- a little sharp, or above the desired pitch.
- produced by relatively rapid vibrations; shrill:
the high sounds of crickets.
- extending to or from an elevation:
a high dive.
- great in quantity, as number, degree, or force:
a high temperature;
high cholesterol.
- Religion.
- chief; principal; main:
the high altar of a church.
- High Church.
- of great consequence; important; grave; serious;
the high consequences of such a deed;
high treason.
Synonyms: capital
- haughty; arrogant:
He took a high tone with his subordinates.
- advanced to the utmost extent or to the culmination:
high tide.
- elevated; merry or hilarious:
high spirits;
a high old time.
- rich; extravagant; luxurious:
They have indulged in high living for years.
- Informal. intoxicated with alcohol or narcotics:
He was so high he couldn't stand up.
- remote:
high latitude;
high antiquity.
- extreme in opinion or doctrine, especially religious or political:
a high Tory.
- designating or pertaining to highland or inland regions.
- having considerable energy or potential power.
- Automotive. of, relating to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the speed of the engine crankshaft and of the drive shaft most closely correspond:
high gear.
- Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with the upper surface of the tongue relatively close to some portion of the palate, as the vowels of eat and it, which are high front, and those of boot and put, which are high back. Compare close ( def 49 ), low 1( def 30 ), mid 1( def 3 ).
- (of meat, especially game) tending toward a desirable or undesirable amount of decomposition; slightly tainted:
He likes his venison high.
- Metallurgy. containing a relatively large amount of a specified constituent (usually used in combination):
high-carbon steel.
- Baseball. (of a pitched ball) crossing the plate at a level above the batter's shoulders:
The pitch was high and outside.
- Cards.
- having greater value than other denominations or suits.
- able to take a trick; being a winning card.
- being or having a winning combination:
Whose hand is high?
- Nautical. noting a wind of force 10 on the Beaufort scale, equal to a whole gale.
adverb
- at or to a high point, place, or level.
- in or to a high rank or estimate:
He aims high in his political ambitions.
- at or to a high amount or price.
- in or to a high degree.
- luxuriously; richly; extravagantly:
They have always lived high.
- Nautical. as close to the wind as is possible while making headway with sails full.
noun
- Automotive. high gear:
He shifted into high when the road became level.
- Informal. high school ( def ).
- Meteorology. a pressure system characterized by relatively high pressure at its center. Compare anticyclone, low 1( def 46 ).
- a high or the highest point, place, or level; peak:
a record high for unemployment.
- Slang.
- a euphoric state induced by alcohol, drugs, etc.
- a period of sustained excitement, exhilaration, or the like:
After winning the lottery he was on a high for weeks.
- Cards. the ace or highest trump out, especially in games of the all fours family.
high
/ haɪ /
adjective
- being a relatively great distance from top to bottom; tall
a high building
- situated at or extending to a relatively great distance above the ground or above sea level
a high plateau
- postpositive being a specified distance from top to bottom
three feet high
- ( in combination )
a seven-foot-high wall
- extending from an elevation
a high dive
- in combination coming up to a specified level
knee-high
- being at its peak or point of culmination
high noon
- of greater than average height
a high collar
- greater than normal in degree, intensity, or amount
high prices
a high wind
a high temperature
- of large or relatively large numerical value
high frequency
high mileage
high voltage
- (of sound) acute in pitch; having a high frequency
- (of latitudes) situated relatively far north or south from the equator
- (of meat) slightly decomposed or tainted, regarded as enhancing the flavour of game
- of great eminence; very important
the high priestess
- exalted in style or character; elevated
high drama
- expressing or feeling contempt or arrogance
high words
- elated; cheerful
high spirits
- informal.predicative overexcited
by the end of term the children are really high
- informal.being in a state of altered consciousness, characterized esp by euphoria and often induced by the use of alcohol, narcotics, etc
- luxurious or extravagant
high life
- advanced in complexity or development
high finance
- (of a gear) providing a relatively great forward speed for a given engine speed Compare low 1
- phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a vowel whose articulation is produced by raising the back of the tongue towards the soft palate or the blade towards the hard palate, such as for the ee in English see or oo in English moon Compare low 1
- capital when part of name formal and elaborate in style
High Mass
- usually capital of or relating to the High Church
- remote, esp in time
- cards
- having a relatively great value in a suit
- able to win a trick
- high and drystranded; helpless; destitute
- high and lowin all places; everywhere
- high and mighty informal.arrogant
- high as a kite informal.
- very drunk
- overexcited
- euphoric from drugs
- high opiniona favourable opinion
adverb
- at or to a height
he jumped high
- in a high manner
- nautical close to the wind with sails full
noun
- a high place or level
- informal.a state of altered consciousness, often induced by alcohol, narcotics, etc
- another word for anticyclone
- short for high school
- capital (esp in Oxford) the High Street
- electronics the voltage level in a logic circuit corresponding to logical one Compare low 1
- on high
- at a height
- in heaven
Other Words From
- over·high adjective
- over·highly adverb
Word History and Origins
Origin of high1
Word History and Origins
Origin of high1
Idioms and Phrases
- fly high, to be full of hope or elation:
His stories began to sell, and he was flying high.
- high and dry,
- (of a ship) grounded so as to be entirely above water at low tide.
- high and low, in every possible place; everywhere:
The missing jewelry was never found, though we searched high and low for it.
- high on, Informal. enthusiastic or optimistic about; having a favorable attitude toward or opinion of.
- on high,
- at or to a height; above.
- in heaven.
- having a high position, as one who makes important decisions:
the powers on high.
More idioms and phrases containing high
- blow sky-high
- fly high
- friend in court (high places)
- hell or high water
- hit the high spots (points)
- hold one's head high
- in high dudgeon
- knee-high to a grasshopper
- on high
- on one's high horse
- ride high
- run high
- stink to high heaven
- think a lot (highly) of
- turn on (get high)
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
It has promised to deliver the highest sustained economic growth in the G7 group of rich nations.
She said the numbers were too high, having previously pledged to put a cap on arrivals into the UK – though she has not specified what level she would consider acceptable.
Its run was extended twice due to high demand, but while trying to fund a European tour, Heller fell into debt and sold the fair to an American foundation.
"I feel on top of the world, I'm on a high and it's giving me a real buzz."
A local civil society group, the Gezira Congress, says that figure could be as high as 140.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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