high-wire

adjective

ˈhī-ˌwī(-ə)r 

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

In a courtroom three blocks away, attorney Michael Sanft was performing his own high-wire act. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

His blend of humor and pathos demands a high-wire act from his ensembles. — Maureen Lee Lenker, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

Two days after the incident, a developer told the Wall Street Journal that the days of high-wire stunts—like pulling out cores and sticking extra floors on the roof—might belong to the past. — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 11 July 2026

In a daring high-wire act high above the East River, fearless NYPD cops spent nearly an hour on a span of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge talking down a woman desperately threatening to jump. — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for high-wire

• admire
• afire
• aspire
• backfire
• esquire
• expire
• haywire
• hellfire
• inquire
• inspire
• newswire
• perspire