Main Entry: ¹high

Pronunciation: \ˈhī\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hēah; akin to Old High German hōh 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 higher primates including humans> <higher 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>.