(~er, ~est, ~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is ~ extends a long way from the bottom to the top when it is upright. You do not use ~ to describe people, animals, or plants.
...a house, with a ~ wall all around it...
Mount Marcy is the ~est mountain in the Adirondacks.
...~-heeled shoes...
The gate was too ~ for a man of his age to climb.
? low
ADJ
•
High is also an adverb.
...wagons packed ~ with bureaus, bedding, and cooking pots.
ADV: ADV after v
2.
You use ~ to talk or ask about how much something upright measures from the bottom to the top.
...an elegant bronze horse only nine inches ~...
Measure your garage: how ~ is the door?
ADJ: amount ADJ, n ADJ, how ADJ, as ADJ as , ADJ-compar than
3.
If something is ~, it is a long way above the ground, above sea level, or above a person or thing.
I looked down from the ~ window...
In Castel Molo, ~ above Taormina, you can sample the famous almond wine made there.
? low
ADJ: oft ADJ prep
•
High is also an adverb.
...being able to run faster or jump ~er than other people.
ADV: ADV after v
•
If something is ~ up, it is a long way above the ground, above sea level, or above a person or thing.
We saw three birds circling very ~ up.
PHRASE: oft PHR prep
4.
You can use ~ to indicate that something is great in amount, degree, or intensity.
The European country with the ~est birth rate is Ireland...
Official reports said casualties were ~...
Commercialisation has given many sports a ~er profile.
? low
ADJ
•
High is also an adverb.
He expects the unemployment figures to rise even ~er in coming months.
ADV: ADV after v
•
You can use phrases such as ‘in the ~ 80s’ to indicate that a number or level is, for example, more than 85 but not as much as 90.
? low
PHRASE
5.
If a food or other substance is ~ in a particular ingredient, it contains a large amount of that ingredient.
Don’t indulge in rich sauces, fried food and thick pastry as these are ~ in fat.
? low
ADJ: v-link ADJ in n
6.
If something reaches a ~ of a particular amount or degree, that is the greatest it has ever been.
Traffic from Jordan to Iraq is down to a dozen loaded lorries a day, compared with a ~ of 200 a day...
Sales of Russian vodka have reached an all-time ~.
? low
N-COUNT: oft N of amount
7.
If you say that something is a ~ priority or is ~ on your list, you mean that you consider it to be one of the most important things you have to do or deal with.
The Labour Party has not made the issue a ~ priority...
Economic reform is ~ on the agenda.
? low
ADJ: oft ADJ on n
8.
Someone who is ~ in a particular profession or society, or has a ~ position, has a very important position and has great authority and influence.
Was there anyone particularly ~ in the administration who was an advocate of a different policy?...
...corruption in ~ places.
ADJ: v-link ADJ in n, ADJ n
•
Someone who is ~ up in a profession or society has a very important position.
His cousin is somebody quite ~ up in the navy...
PHRASE: oft PHR in n
9.
You can use ~ to describe something that is advanced or complex.
Neither Anna nor I are interested in ~ finance.
ADJ: ADJ n
10.
If you aim ~, you try to obtain or to achieve the best that you can.
You should not be afraid to aim ~ in the quest for an improvement in your income...
ADV: ADV after v
11.
If someone has a ~ reputation, or people have a ~ opinion of them, people think they are very good in some way, for example at their work.
She has always had a ~ reputation for her excellent short stories...
People have such ~ expectations of you.
? low
ADJ
12.
If the quality or standard of something is ~, it is very good indeed.
His team were of the ~est calibre...
ADJ
13.
If someone has ~ principles, they are morally good.
He was a man of the ~est principles.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
14.
A ~ sound or voice is close to the top of a particular range of notes.
Her ~ voice really irritated Maria.
? low
ADJ
15.
When a river is ~, it contains much more water than usual.
The waters of the Yangtze River are dangerously ~ for the time of year.
? low
ADJ
16.
If your spirits are ~, you feel happy and excited.
Her spirits were ~ with the hope of seeing Nick in minutes rather than hours.
? low
ADJ
17.
If someone is ~ on drink or drugs, they are affected by the alcoholic drink or drugs they have taken. (INFORMAL)
He was too ~ on drugs and alcohol to remember them.
ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ on n
18.
A ~ is a feeling or mood of great excitement or happiness. (INFORMAL)
N-COUNT
19.
If you say that something came from on ~, you mean that it came from a person or place of great authority.
Orders had come from on ~ that extra care was to be taken during this week.
PHRASE: usu from PHR
20.
If you say that you were left ~ and dry, you are emphasizing that you were left in a difficult situation and were unable to do anything about it.
Schools with better reputations will be flooded with applications while poorer schools will be left ~ and dry.
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR emphasis
21.
If you refer to the ~s and lows of someone’s life or career, you are referring to both the successful or happy times, and the unsuccessful or bad times.
PHRASE: oft PHR of n
22.
If you say that you looked ~ and low for something, you are emphasizing that you looked for it in every place that you could think of.
PHRASE: PHR after v emphasis
23.
in ~ dudgeon: see dudgeon
come hell or ~ water: see hell
to be ~ time: see time