1
: involving great risk
a financial high-wire act
2
: daring
high-wire prose

Examples of high-wire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But the Laugh Factory incident is but one tendril of Richards’ book, albeit an important one, tying into the dangerous high-wire act of performance in general and stand-up comedy in particular. Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2024 In order to put additional time on the clock, 1st Floor attempts a high-wire circus performance inspired by his real-life job as a clown, but ends up crashing into the projector that serves as the complex's artificial sun, falling to the ground, and being engulfed in flames. Megan McCluskey, TIME, 20 May 2024 The best thing about 'The Fall Guy' is Gosling and Blunt Leitch, a former stuntman, brings an obviously genuine love for high-wire set pieces to life. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 1 May 2024 The Kings found their television queue, full of serialized show after serialized show, many with high-wire concepts and a limited number of episodes, increasingly daunting to watch instead of being a source of respite after a long day of work. Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024 This mesmerizing documentary, directed by James Marsh, recounts the story of Philippe Petit, a French high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1974. Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024 But striking the right tone for Apples Never Fall, the series, while rearranging the book format was a high-wire act only Moriarity herself (who is also an excutive producer) and showrunner/EP Melanie Marnich could have pulled off. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2024 Her audience’s eyes were still recovering from her high-wire gyrations, her postapocalyptic backup ravers, and her many, many lasers. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2023 The result is a madcap high-wire act of choreography and comedy. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'high-wire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of high-wire was in 1956

Dictionary Entries Near high-wire

Cite this Entry

“High-wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-wire. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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