as in to flee
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
when a fight broke out, we hightailed it out of the bar
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hightail (it)
Verb
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By the late 1970s, hundreds of thousands of refugees had fled the country by boat and overland, flooding into Hong Kong and Thailand.—
Thomas Doherty,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Feb. 2025 -
While the country does provide asylum to those fleeing their countries, migrants must apply within the first 30 business days of their arrival.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With their press broken, Newcastle had to retreat to their 5-4-1 shape but became fatigued making so many recovery runs.—
Liam Tharme,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
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The Trump administration is rapidly delivering wins to American companies by rolling back regulations, pausing investigations and retreating from lawsuits accusing employers of discrimination.—
Matthew Goldstein,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Jack then tells Portia to not return to the White Lotus and wait for Tanya and to go to the airport and fly home instead.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
25 Feb. 2025
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Its feathers confirmed its ability to fly, albeit not with the grace of modern birds.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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After standing behind Hamilton for years, the first Wicked album bolted to No. 1 yet again on the Cast Albums ranking this past fall.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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Four-star edge rusher Rico Walker, the top Maryland recruit in the 2023 cycle, bolted after one season and is at Auburn.—
Grace Raynor,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Andrea Mitchell recently signed off from her early afternoon show, which had run since 2008, but is continuing on the NBC News side as chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2025
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Later, the Vice President met with Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany’s nationalist AfD party, some of whose officials have downplayed the Holocaust and embraced Nazi rhetoric, and which has run second in pre-election polling.—
Massimo Calabresi/Dachau,
TIME,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The 48 men were arrested by Thai authorities 11 years ago after crossing the border to Thailand in an attempt to escape persecution in China and had been kept in detention and legal limbo ever since.—
Kocha Olarn,
CNN,
27 Feb. 2025
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But in 2023 she and her associate Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested for child abuse after one of Franke’s sons escaped from Hildebrandt’s home in Utah.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors said James later pulled over his vehicle on the side of the freeway, where the woman got out of the vehicle and ran away.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacramento Bee,
18 Feb. 2025
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Which meant a film about giving in to your urges — to ditch your dead-end office gig, to cheat on your spouse, to run away from your weird, embarrassing parents — hit the spot.—
Sarah Bahr,
New York Times,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The fellas are running off testosterone with a push up contest, which gets things going.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
18 Feb. 2025
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Pape Matar Sarr constantly makes selfless runs off the ball while Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur protect the defence.—
Jay Harris,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hightail (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightail%20%28it%29. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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