high

1 of 3

adjective

ˈhī 

1

a

: rising or extending upward a great distance : taller than average, usual, or expected

a high wall

a high fly ball

b

: having a specified height or elevation : tall

six feet high

—often used in combination

sky-high

waist-high

c

: situated or passing above the normal level, surface, base of measurement, or elevation

the high desert

2

a(1)

: advanced toward the acme or culmination

high summer

(2)

: advanced toward the most active or culminating period

on the Riviera during high season

(3)

: constituting the late, most fully developed, or most creative stage or period

high Gothic

(4)

: advanced in complexity, development, or elaboration

the higher primates including humans

higher mathematics

b

: verging on lateness

—usually used in the phrase high time

It's high time he won an award.

c

: long past : remote

high antiquity

3

: elevated in pitch (see pitch entry 4 sense 4b(1))

a high note

4

: relatively far from the equator

high latitude

5

: rich in quality : luxurious

high living

6

: slightly tainted or spoiled

high game meat

also : malodorous

smelled rather high

7

: exalted or elevated in character : noble

high purposes

8

: of greater degree, amount, cost, value, or content than average, usual, or expected

high prices

high temperatures

high blood pressure

traveling at a high rate of speed

unemployment was high

9

: of relatively great importance: such as

a

: foremost in rank, dignity, or standing

high officials

b

: serious, grave

high crimes

c

: observed with the utmost solemnity

high religious observances

d

: critical, climactic

the high point of the novel

e

: intellectually or artistically of the first order or best quality

high culture

f

: marked by sublime, heroic, or stirring events or subject matter

high tragedy

a tale of high adventure

10

: forcible, strong

high winds

11

: stressing matters of doctrine and ceremony

specifically : high church

12

a

: filled with or expressing great joy or excitement

high spirits

b

: intoxicated by or as if by a drug or alcohol

high on cocaine

13

: articulated or pronounced with some part of the tongue close to the palate

a high vowel

high

2 of 3

adverb

1

: at or to a high place, altitude, level, or degree

climbed higher

passions ran high

2

: well, luxuriously

—often used in the phrases high off the hog and high on the hog

high

3 of 3

noun

1

: an elevated place or region: such as

a

: hill, knoll

b

: the space overhead : sky

—usually used with on

birds wheeling on high

c

: heaven

—usually used with on

wisdom from on high

2

: a region where the pressure of the atmosphere is greater than normal : a region of high barometric pressure

a high moving out to the east

called also anticyclone

3

a

: a point or level of greater amount, number, or degree than average or expected : a high point or level

sales reached a new high

mostly sunny with highs in the 80s

the highs and lows of her career

b

: the transmission gear of a vehicle (such as an automobile) giving the greatest speed of travel

put it into high

4

a

: an excited, euphoric, or stupefied state produced by or as if by a drug

produces a high that lasts several hours

coming down from the high of their wedding day

b

: a state of elation or high spirits

the high of victory

Phrases

high on

: enthusiastically in approval or support of

party leaders high on a new candidate

Synonyms

Adjective

• altitudinous
• lofty
• tall
• towering

Adverb

• expensively
• extravagantly
• fatly
• grandly
• large
• lavishly
• luxuriously
• opulently
• palatially
• plushly
• richly
• sumptuously

Noun

• cloud nine
• ecstasy
• elatedness
• elation
• euphoria
• exhilaration
• heaven
• intoxication
• paradise
• rapture
• rhapsody
• seventh heaven
• swoon
• transport

Choose the Right Synonym for high

high, tall, lofty mean above the average in height.

high implies marked extension upward and is applied chiefly to things which rise from a base or foundation or are placed at a conspicuous height above a lower level.

a high hill

a high ceiling

tall applies to what grows or rises high by comparison with others of its kind and usually implies relative narrowness.

a tall thin man

lofty suggests great or imposing altitude.

lofty mountain peaks

Examples of high in a Sentence

Adjective

The apartment has high ceilings.

The airplane was high above the clouds.

The bush is six feet high.

a building 100 stories high

They have a home in the high country.

The houses are built on high ground.

They reached speeds as high as 100 mph.

He's being treated for high blood pressure.

She earns a high salary.

His books are in high demand.

Adverb

The painter climbed high on the ladder.

The hawks were circling high in the air.

The letters were stacked high on the table.

buy low and sell high

Noun

Oil prices reached a new high last winter.

The forecast is for showers with highs in the 70s.

The high only lasted a few minutes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Both structures have been heavily eroded due to rising sea levels and now only stand several feet high. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024

This is a 5% increase in daily Bitcoin production compared to the prior month, despite a 4% higher average network difficulty in March 2024. —Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2024

Flight forced to turn around after passenger tried to enter cockpit Gold prices are high. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

The issue burst into the spotlight in October, when a Kansas City, Mo., jury found that the NAR and several major brokerages conspired to keep commissions artificially high, awarding a class of home sellers $1.8 billion in damages. —Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024

The Eagles matched their season high by drawing 10 walks. —Michael Huntley, Orange County Register, 5 Apr. 2024

Sports: Asking for input on how high to rank a player in a list of 100 athletes. —Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024

But the show has known that the stakes of civility are too high not to crack up from time to time. —Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

Real estate investors already battered by high interest rates now face the prospect of significant writedowns triggered by new European regulations. —Frances Schwartzkopff, Fortune Europe, 24 Mar. 2024

Adverb

Trout’s second shot — a 473-foot blast in the sixth — landed in the walkway high above the wall in left-center field. —Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024

Eli Morgan entered for the Guardians and didn’t throw a strike to Toro, who watched a 90-mph fastball sail high to essentially end the 2 ½-hour affair. —Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024

Residing high up in the stratosphere about 30 miles above Earth's surface, the vortex is most prominent during the winter. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024

During various songs, she was lifted high above the floor in a carriage and moved from one end of the arena to the other, all the while singing and dancing 30 feet above the crowd. —Stefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024

By the end of the '90s, her star was flying high with leading roles in Se7en (1995), Emma (1996), Sliding Doors (1998), and her Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning turn in Shakespeare in Love (1998). —Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2024

Indeed, at two supermarkets in Bangkok, shiny walls of powdered formula boxes seven shelves high greeted shoppers on a warm day in September. —Heather Vogell, ProPublica, 21 Mar. 2024

Rats infesting the New Orleans Police Department headquarters are getting high off of marijuana from the evidence room, authorities said Monday. —Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024

We are often told that setting the bar high is key to success. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024

Noun

Helix’s Shon Martin smashed the fifth hurdle with his hip and any chance to coming back to win the 110 highs was lost despite lowering the section record the last two weeks to the current 13.72 seconds. —Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

Musk’s wealth has shrunk by $48.4 billion this year, while Zuckerberg has added $58.9 billion to his fortune as Meta Platforms Inc. climbs to fresh highs, including a new record on Friday. —Vernal Galpotthawela, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2024

Black Boots Calf or thigh highs; the option is totally up to you. —Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 5 Apr. 2024

The folks at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimate that the travel industry will reach a record $11.1 trillion in 2024, eclipsing the prior high of $10 trillion achieved in 2019. —Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024

Pop financial writers effusively proclaim the good news about all-time highs: personal net worth, stock, and housing prices, economic activity, air travel miles, plus 5% rates on bank deposits amid other positives reflecting continuing global prosperity. —Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2024

Even so, inflation is slowly easing after hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022, but still remains higher than the Fed would like. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure has fallen from a four-decade high of 7% in mid-2022. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024

Temperatures will be well below normal, with highs ranging from the mid-40s in the northwest to the lower 50s in the southeast. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun

Middle English, from Old English hēah; akin to Old High German hōh high, Lithuanian kaukaras hill

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing high

• be riding high
• high and low
• high blood pressure
• high day
• high drama
• high fashion
• high-energy physics
• high ground
• high-impact
• high-intensity interval training
• high/low profile
• high-low-jack
• high pain threshold
• high-pressure
• high relief
• high rise
• high-strung
• high-sticking
• high summer
• high style
• high street
• high table
• high tea
• high tide
• high-toned
• high-top
• high/top marks
• high tunnel
• in high dudgeon
• in high places
• in high style
• in/into high gear
• it's high time
• knee-high
• knee-high to a grasshopper
• stand high/low with (someone)
• senior high school
• sky-high
• take a high polish
• the high ground
• the moral high ground
• aim high
• extremely high frequency
• from on high
• come hell or high water
• have a high regard for
• as high as a kite
• high-and-mighty
• friends in high places
• be (in) for the high jump
• high and dry
• high analysis
• high altar
• have a high opinion of (something)
• high-count
• high beam
• high chair
• high court
• high-class
• high-concept
• high-density lipoprotein
• high-energy
• hell or high water
• high comedy
• high-flown
• high command
• high cholesterol
• high finance
• high-def
• high commissioner
• high explosive
• high frequency
• high achiever
• high heels
• high fidelity
• high-end
• high-handed
• high-definition
• high-heeled
• high in
• high-grade
• high-maintenance
• high gear
• high horse
• high-grading
• high polymer
• high five
• high-flying
• high place
• high jinks
• high days and holidays
• high jump
• high mass
• fly high
• high point
• high on the list
• high on the hog
• high off the hog
• high on one's list
• high noon
• high-powered
• high hopes
• high quality
• high-minded
• high-pitched
• high-muck-a-muck
• high performance
• high-profile
• high hat
• high road
• high school
• high priest
• high-sounding
• high-octane
• high-risk
• high school reunion
• high-ranking
• high-speed
• high roller
• high-test
• high-security
• high-spirited
• high sea
• high sign
• high-wire
• high priestess
• high technology
• high-wire act
• high treason
• high-level
• high on
• high-ticket
• high-muckety-muck
• high-voltage
• high-up
• high tech
• high-wrought
• in high spirits
• high-tension
• hold (someone or something) in high regard
• high-water mark
• high yellow
• on a high note
• mile high club
• on a high
• junior high school
• shoulder-high
• place a high value on
• hold one's head (up) high
• the high jump
• high-power
• on high
• the high road
• run high
• to high heaven
• waist-high
• very high frequency
• runner's high
• hit the high spots
• high yaller
• hit the high points
• took the high road
• ride high
• high water
• kicks/moves into high gear
• stinks to high heaven

Kids Definition

high

1 of 3 adjective

ˈhī 

1

a

: extending to a great distance upward : having greater height than average or usual

rooms with high ceilings

b

: having a specified elevation

six feet high

2

: advanced toward fullness

high summer

3

: shrill entry 2, sharp

high note

4

: far from the equator

high latitude

5

: noble entry 1 sense 5

a writer of high purpose

6

: of greater degree, size, amount, or content than average or ordinary

high pressure

high power of a microscope

7

: of relatively great importance: as

a

: first in rank or standing

high society

b

: serious sense 4, grave

high crimes

8

: strong sense 7

high winds

9

a

: showing joy or excitement

high spirits

b

: drunk entry 2 sense 1

also : affected or impaired by or as if by a drug

10

: advanced or complex in structure or development

higher mathematics

higher fungi

high

2 of 3 adverb

1

: at or to a high place, altitude, or degree

climbed high

2

: richly sense 1, luxuriously

living high

high

3 of 3 noun

1

a

: hill entry 1 sense 1, knoll

b

: sky sense 1

watched the birds on high

c

: heaven sense 2

a judgment from on high

2

: a region of high barometric pressure : anticyclone

3

a

: a high point or level : height

prices reached a new high

b

: the arrangement of gears (as in an automobile) that gives the highest speed and consequently the highest speed of travel

4

: a state of good feeling, excitement, or intoxication produced by or as if by a drug

Medical Definition

high

1 of 2 adjective

ˈhī 

1

: having a complex organization : greatly differentiated or developed phylogenetically

—usually used in the comparative degree of advanced types of plants and animals

the higher algae

the higher apes

compare low

2

a

: exhibiting elation or euphoric excitement

a high patient

b

: being intoxicated

also : excited or stupefied by or as if by a drug (as marijuana or heroin)

high

2 of 2 noun

: an excited, euphoric, or stupefied state

especially : one produced by or as if by a drug (as heroin)