/ haɪt; NAmE / noun
MEASUREMENT
1.
[ U , C ] the measurement of how tall a person or thing is :
Height: 210 mm. Width: 57 mm. Length: 170 mm.
Please state your height and weight.
It is almost 2 metres in height .
She is the same height as her sister.
to be of medium / average height
You can adjust the height of the chair.
The table is available in several different heights.
—picture at dimension
BEING TALL
2.
[ U ] the quality of being tall or high :
She worries about her height (= that she is too tall) .
The height of the mountain did not discourage them.
DISTANCE ABOVE GROUND
3.
[ C , U ] a particular distance above the ground :
The plane flew at a height of 3 000 metres.
The stone was dropped from a great height .
The aircraft was gaining height.
to be at shoulder / chest / waist height
HIGH PLACE
4.
[ C , usually pl. ] (often used in names) a high place or position :
Brooklyn Heights
He doesn't have a head for heights (= is afraid of high places) .
a fear of heights
We looked out over the city from the heights of Edinburgh Castle.
The pattern of the ancient fields is clearly visible from a height .
STRONGEST POINT / LEVEL
5.
[ sing. ] the point when sth is at its best or strongest :
He is at the height of his career.
She is still at the height of her powers .
I wouldn't go there in the height of summer .
The fire reached its height around 2 a.m.
The crisis was at its height in May.
6.
heights [ pl. ] a better or greater level of sth; a situation where sth is very good :
Their success had reached new heights .
She dreamed of reaching the dizzy heights of stardom.
EXTREME EXAMPLE
7.
[ sing. ] height of sth an extreme example of a particular quality :
It would be the height of folly (= very stupid) to change course now.
She was dressed in the height of fashion .
•
IDIOMS
- draw yourself up / rise to your full height
—more at dizzy
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hēhthu (in the sense top of something ), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoogte , also to high .