highball

1 of 2

noun

high·​ball ˈhī-ˌbȯl 

1

: an iced drink containing liquor (such as whiskey) and water or a carbonated beverage (such as ginger ale) and served in a tall glass

2

: a railroad signal for a train to proceed at full speed

highball

2 of 2

verb

highballed; highballing; highballs

intransitive verb

: to go at full or high speed

a highballing express train

Synonyms

Verb

• barrel
• belt
• blast
• blaze
• blow
• bolt
• bomb [slang]
• bowl
• breeze
• bundle
• bustle
• buzz
• cannonball
• careen
• career
• chase
• course
• crack (on)
• dash
• drive
• fly
• hare
• hasten
• hie
• hotfoot (it)
• hump
• hurl
• hurry
• hurtle
• hustle
• jet
• jump
• motor
• nip
• pelt
• race
• ram
• rip
• rocket
• run
• rush
• rustle
• scoot
• scurry
• scuttle
• shoot
• speed
• step
• tear
• travel
• trot
• whirl
• whisk
• zip
• zoom

Examples of highball in a Sentence

Verb

trying to make up for lost time, the train just highballed through the station without stopping

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The cocktails were served in vintage tumblers and highballs from North Country Vintage, which is owned by Joanna Murphy. —Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

It can be mixed with lemonade and seltzer water for a simple highball or with soda water for a non-alcoholic mule. —Rachel King, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

Maybe that’s why drinks like the ginger highball are still around. —Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024

Jemima Kirke, Beverly Nguyen, Quil Lemons, Kimberly Drew, Dara Allen, June Ambrose, Tina Leung, Zanna Roberts Rassi and Leandra Medine mingled about as highballs of a ginger and peach drink passed by. —Leigh Nordstrom, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1911, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

highball

noun

high·​ball

ˈhī-ˌbȯl

: a drink of alcoholic liquor with water or a carbonated beverage served in a tall glass