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
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Matching the high-wire tempo of the first season’s inciting fender bender, this opening sets up the theme of the season. Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026 Election is a ruthless, high-wire satire with its skeptical spectacles trained on authority itself. Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026 Or tumble onto the ground from a high-wire? Matias Ocner, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026 From wire-to-wire to a harrowing high-wire act. Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for high-wire

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

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Cite this Entry

“High-wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-wire. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

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