n.
Pronunciation: ' h ī
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English h ē ah; akin to Old High German h ō h high, Lithuanian kaukaras hill
Date: before 12th century
1 a : having large extension upward : taller than average, usual, or expected <a high wall> b : having a specified elevation : TALL <six feet high > ― often used in combinations <sky- high > <waist- high > c : situated or passing above the normal level, surface, base of measurement, or elevation <the high desert>
2 a (1) : advanced toward the acme or culmination < high summer> (2) : advanced toward the most active or culminating period <on the Riviera during high season> (3) : constituting the late, most fully developed, or most creative stage or period < high Gothic> (4) : advanced in complexity, development, or elaboration <the high er primates including humans> < high er mathematics> b : verging on lateness ― usually used in the phrase high time c : long past : REMOTE < high antiquity>
3 : elevated in pitch <a high note>
4 : relatively far from the equator < high latitude>
5 : rich in quality : LUXURIOUS < high living>
6 : slightly tainted < high game> also : MALODOROUS <smelled rather high >
7 : exalted in character : NOBLE < high purposes>
8 : of greater degree, amount, cost, value, or content than average, usual, or expected < high prices>
9 : of relatively great importance: as a : foremost in rank, dignity, or standing < high officials> b : SERIOUS , GRAVE < high crimes> c : observed with the utmost solemnity < high religious observances> d : CRITICAL , CLIMACTIC <the high point of the novel> e : intellectually or artistically of the first order < high culture> f : marked by sublime, heroic, or stirring events or subject matter < high tragedy> < high adventure>
10 : FORCIBLE , STRONG < high winds>
11 : stressing matters of doctrine and ceremony specifically : HIGH CHURCH
12 a : filled with or expressing great joy or excitement < high spirits> b : INTOXICATED also : excited or stupefied by or as if by a drug
13 : articulated with some part of the tongue close to the palate <a high vowel>
– high on : enthusiastically in approval or support of
synonyms HIGH , TALL , LOFTY mean above the average in height. HIGH implies marked extension upward and is applied chiefly to things which rise from a base or foundation or are placed at a conspicuous height above a lower level <a high hill> <a high ceiling>. TALL applies to what grows or rises high by comparison with others of its kind and usually implies relative narrowness <a tall thin man>. LOFTY suggests great or imposing altitude < lofty mountain peaks>.