adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "high" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "high" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "high" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "high" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "a bit much" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Before publishing a sentence with "high", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
"It was one of the highs of his career."
"Today's high was 32 °C."
"Falling from cloud nine / Crashing from the high / I'm letting go tonight / Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine"
"No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again."
"A large high is centred on the Azores."
"He’s the old man’s only son. Some baby! Yep, right behind ya. Nope, he donno me. I was in Grammar when he was in High."
"The sun higheth."
"The balloon rose high in the sky. The wall was high. a high mountain"
"She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive."
"the pitch (or: the ball) was high"
"three feet high three Mount Everests high"
"The oldest of the elves' royal family still conversed in High Elvish."
"the high priest, the high officials of the court, the high altar"
"high crimes, the high festival of the sun"
"high (i.e. intense) heat; high (i.e. full or quite) noon; high (i.e. rich or spicy) seasoning; high (i.e. complete) pleasure; high (i.e. deep or vivid) colour; high (i.e. extensive, thorough) scholarship; high tide; high [tourism] season; the High Middle Ages"
"to hear and answer such high things"
"high church High Tory"
"in high spirits"
"high living, the high life"
"a high tone"
""Conversely, just because I am not high on positivity, it does not mean I am necessarily high on negativity.""
"The sea is as high as ever. I shouldn't think any boat could put out today."
"high latitude, fish species in high arctic and antarctic areas"
"My bank charges me a high interest rate."
"Carrots are high in vitamin A. made from a high-copper alloy"
"The note was too high for her to sing."
"I have KT742 of the same suit. In other words, a K-high flush."
"North's hand was high. East was in trouble."
"Epicures do not cook game before it is high."
""Three extremely high people showing up at the animal shelter like WE FOUND A DOG would be really funny, but...""
"NO NEARER! (arrive! Fr.) the command given by the pilot of quarter-master, to the helmsman, to steer the ship no higher to the direction of the wind than the sails will operate to advance the ship in her course."
"Our defensive line is too high."
"How high above land did you fly?"
"Costs have grown higher this year again."
"I certainly can't sing that high."
"Back in high school, I got up at 6 a.m. every morning."
A high point or position, literally (as, an elevated place; a superior region; a height; the sky; heaven) or figuratively (as, a point of success or achievement; a time when things are at their best, greatest, most numerous, maximum, etc).
Common synonyms include: a bit much, a high, abandoned, above, abovestairs, academy.
Back in high school, I got up at 6 a.m. every morning.
Pronounced /haɪ/.
From Middle English high, heigh, heih, from Old English hēah (“high, tall, lofty, high-class, exalted, sublime, illustrious, important, proud, haughty, deep, right”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauh (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz (“high”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- (“to bend; crooked”). Cognates Cognate with Scots heich (“high”), Yola heegh, heigh, heighe, hia, hie (“high”), North Frisian hoog, huuch (“high”), Saterland Frisian hooch, hoog (“high”), West Frisian heech (“high”), Alemannic German hooch (“high”), Central Franconian huh (“high”), Cimbrian hoach, hòach (“high”), Dutch hoog, hooge (“high”), German hoch (“high”), German Low German hooch (“high”), Limburgish hoeg (“high”), Luxembourgish héich (“high”), Mòcheno heach (“high”), Vilamovian huch (“high”), Yiddish הויך (hoykh, “high”), Danish høj (“high”), Faroese háur, høgur (“high”), Gutnish haugar (“high”), Icelandic hár (“high”), Norwegian Bokmål høg, høy (“high”), Norwegian Nynorsk høg, håg, hå (“high”), Swedish hög (“high”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃 (hauhs, “high”), Vandalic *oas (“high”), Old French haut (“high”) (from Old High German hoh (“high”)); also with Ancient Greek Καύκᾰσος (Kaúkăsos, “Caucasus”), Latvian koks (“tree”), Lithuanian kúoka (“stick with thick end, pounder, pestle”), Bulgarian ку́ка (kúka, “hook”), Albanian çukë (“peak, summit, top”).
From Middle English hegen, heghen, heien, a conflation of Old English ġehēgan (“to perform, conduct”) (from Proto-West Germanic *hauwjan) and hēan (“to raise up, exalt”) (from *hauhijan), also influenced by heigh (“high”).
See hie.
Sales and Marketing Copy Words
Conversion-oriented language for landing pages, ads, and lifecycle campaigns.
ESL High-Frequency Vocabulary
Core word sets and usage distinctions for practical English fluency.
GRE and SAT Vocabulary
High-frequency test words with usage context for standardized exam preparation.