hightail

verb

high·tail ˈhī-ˌtāl

hightailed; hightailing; hightails

intransitive verb

: to move at full speed or rapidly often in making a retreat

—usually used with it

hightailed it out of there

Examples of hightail in a Sentence

when a fight broke out, we hightailed it out of the bar

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

According to Postal Service data crunched by the real estate firm CBRE, those who picked up stakes during the pandemic were less likely to hightail to the hinterlands than to move to neighboring, less-dense cities, slightly farther from the downtown core. —

Aarian Marshall, Wired, 29 Apr. 2021 Huck’s instinct is to hightail it out of there. —

Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 10 July 2020 Seeking solace and a renewal of her seasonal spirit, Angelina and her firecracker assistant Monique (Zenzi Williams) hightail it to upstate New York. —

Courtney Howard, Variety, 17 Nov. 2022 But a woman — and all the women in the audience — will endorse her decision to hightail it in the opposite direction. —

Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 May 2022 See all Example Sentences for hightail