high
high
(hī) adjective
Abbr. h., H.
1.
a. Having a relatively great elevation; extending far upward: a high mountain; a high tower. b. Extending a specified distance upward: a cabinet ten feet high.
2. a. Being at or near the peak or culminating stage: the high tourist season; high summer. b. Advanced in development or complexity: high forms of animal life; higher mathematics. c. Far removed in time; remote: high antiquity.
3. a. Slightly spoiled or tainted; gamy. Used of meat. b. Having a bad smell; malodorous.
4. a. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively large number of sound-wave cycles per second: the high tones of a flute. b. Raised in pitch; not soft or hushed: a high voice.
5. Situated relatively far from the equator: a high latitude.
6. a. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program. b. Eminent in rank or status: a high official. c. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors. d. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film. e. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.
7. Lofty or exalted in quality or character: a person of high morals.
8. a. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing). b. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.
9. Of great force or violence: high winds.
10. a. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits. b. Slang. Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.
11. Luxurious; extravagant: high living.
12. Linguistics. Of or relating to vowels produced with part of the tongue close to the palate, as in the vowel of tree.
13. Of, relating to, or being the gear configuration or setting, as in an automotive transmission, that produces the greatest vehicular speed with respect to engine speed.
adverb
higher, highest
1.
At, in, or to a lofty position, level, or degree: saw a plane high in the sky; prices that had gone too high.
2.
In an extravagant or luxurious way: made a fortune and lived high.
noun
1.
A lofty place or region.
2.
A lofty level or degree: Summer temperatures reached an all-time high.
3.
The high gear configuration of a transmission.
4.
A center of high atmospheric pressure; an anticyclone.
5.
Slang. An intoxicated or euphoric condition induced by or as if by a drug.
idiom.
high and dry
1.
In a position of helplessness; stranded: went off and left me high and dry.
2.
Nautical. Out of water. Used of a ship, for example.
high and low
Here and there; everywhere: searched high and low for the keys.
on high
1.
High in the sky.
2.
In heaven.
3.
In a position of authority.
[Middle English, from Old English hēah.]
high
ʹly adverb
Synonyms:
high, tall, lofty, towering, elevated. These adjectives mean extending to a greater than usual height. High, the most general term, refers to what rises a considerable distance from a base or is situated at a level well above another level considered as a base: a high building; a high ceiling; a high shelf; high standards. Tall describes what has relatively great stature; it often refers to living things and to what has great height in relation to breadth or in comparison with like things: a tall man; tall trees; a tall hat. Lofty describes what is of imposing or inspiring height: lofty mountains; lofty sentiments. Towering suggests awe-inspiring height: a towering oak; towering icebergs; towering ambition. Elevated stresses height in relation to immediate surroundings; it refers principally to being raised or situated above a normal or average level: an elevated plain; elevated praise; elevated thought.