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

Tom Cruise has built a career on jumping out of airplanes, scaling skyscrapers and performing other high-wire antics in the name of entertainment. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

John Early’s Maddie’s Secret is a smart, deeply committed high-wire act of hyperspecific genre filmmaking that’s also one of the funniest movies of the year. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Quite the sobering commentary on society, but the next WNBA commissioner must understand the high-wire act of being in charge while combating the perception of not being warm enough. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Wilde credits her co-stars with collaborating on this high-wire act. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 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