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 The biopic tells the story of French artist Philippe Petit's unauthorized high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974, and Gordon-Levitt was lucky enough to learn from the risk-taker himself. Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023 The result is a madcap high-wire act of choreography and comedy. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2023 The Bruins had taken their high-wire act to new heights while improving to 8-0. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023 South American qualifying, for so long such a high-wire act, now operates with a colossal safety net. Rory Smith, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2023 For artists, the live entertainment industry has always been a bit of a high-wire act, but since the pandemic, it’s become more like juggling flaming torches on a unicycle, while covered in gasoline. Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2023 American Airlines and United both had to navigate the high-wire act of negotiating new pilots union contracts—and both did so successfully. Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2023 Wide-eyed spectators wandered freely through Egyptian and Medieval Courts, delighted in high-wire circus acts, and were transported by a 4,000-piece orchestra. Yannic Rack, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023 The hand-raising moment illustrated the high-wire act that is Mr. Pence’s campaign — embracing Trumpism, while distancing himself from it. Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2023 See More

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 10 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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