variants
or high-water mark
1
a
: the line of the shore of the sea or of a lake or river to which the waters usually reach at high water:
(1)
: the line that marks the limit of the rise of the medium tides of the sea between the spring and neap tides
(2)
: the line that marks the limit of the soil so affected by the water of a lake or river as to have a nature and vegetation distinct from that of the banks
b
: a mark showing the highest level reached by a body of water
2
usually high-water mark
: the highest point : acme
the high-water mark of a girl's social career—
Hamilton Basso
Hamilton BassoExamples of high-water mark in a Sentence
Noun (1)
he hit the high-water mark of his acting career when he played Tiny Tim in a school play
Recent Examples on the Web
Mitchell Schnurman, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023
The Nacimiento River edged out its 1969 high-water mark by 1.51 feet.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2023
With the swearing-in of Jennifer McClellan as the first Black woman to represent Virginia on Tuesday, the House now has 28 Black women in its ranks, a new high-water mark, but the Senate has none.
—Jazmine Ulloa, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2023
The film, in which Topol was cast as a Mexican, was nobody’s creative high-water mark — but left no permanent damage on Topol’s career.
—Carmel Dagan, Variety, 8 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for high-water mark
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Noun
In December, Texas had just over a million job openings, a high-water mark it’s been hovering around for several months.
—Mitchell Schnurman, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023
The Nacimiento River edged out its 1969 high-water mark by 1.51 feet.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2023
With the swearing-in of Jennifer McClellan as the first Black woman to represent Virginia on Tuesday, the House now has 28 Black women in its ranks, a new high-water mark, but the Senate has none.
—Jazmine Ulloa, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2023
The film, in which Topol was cast as a Mexican, was nobody’s creative high-water mark — but left no permanent damage on Topol’s career.
—Carmel Dagan, Variety, 8 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for high-water mark
Cite this Entry
“High-water mark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-water%20mark. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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