high-flying

adjective

high-fly·​ing ˈhī-ˈflī-iŋ How to pronounce high-flying (audio)
1
: marked by extravagance, pretension, or excessive ambition
2
: rising to considerable height

Examples of high-flying in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As Sunday’s home game with the Las Vegas Raiders approaches, this high-flying offense ranks in the top 10 in points and yards after finishing outside the top 10 in one or both categories for each of the past two seasons. Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2025 As the trailer promises, those threats — whether of the high-flying, head-smashing, fiery, toothy or mysterious variety — will leave audiences on the edge of their seats, and holding onto their butts. Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025 Here’s a look inside the high-flying real estate life of Barstool’s El Pres. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2025 IonQ, another high-flying quantum computing name, took a breather from its rally the previous week, but still gained about 9% this week. Sean Conlon,pia Singh, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2025 Jarace Walker, Pacers Walker, a 2023 lottery pick, has mostly been crowded out of minutes at his best position (power forward) by Indiana’s awesome combo of All-Star Pascal Siakam and high-flying reserve Obi Toppin. John Hollinger, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025 How Intel originally found that spark—then lost it—is a worthy lesson for any high-flying company about how to keep a company culture alive. Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025 Sylvan Esso is the latest high-flying act to yank their catalog from Spotify. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2025 The high-flying debut marks Cardi’s second consecutive Number One album after Invasion of Privacy, which opened atop the charts in 2018. Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of high-flying was in 1581

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Cite this Entry

“High-flying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-flying. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

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