tall

adjective \ ˈtȯl \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of tall

1 a : high in stature

b : of a specified height

five feet tall

2 a : of considerable height

tall trees

b : long from bottom to top

a tall book

c : of a higher growing variety or species of plant

3 a : large or formidable in amount, extent, or degree

a tall order to fill

b : pompous, high-flown

tall talk about the vast mysteries of life
—W. A. White

c : highly exaggerated : incredible, improbable

a tall story

4 obsolete : brave, courageous

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tall

adverb

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tallish

play \ˈtȯ-lish\ adjective

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tallness

play \ˈtȯl-nəs\ noun

See tall defined for English-language learners

See tall defined for kids

Examples of tall in a Sentence

All the children in my family grew up to be very tall.
My mother is short but my father is fairly tall.
The giraffe is the tallest animal.
The drinks were served in tall glasses.
She is five feet tall.

Recent Examples of tall from the Web

Thank you to Shaq for spending the whole day with me, with people constantly saying: ‘Shaq, how tall are you?’; ‘Watch your head in the doorway!’; ‘Shaq, how big are your shoes?

— molly creeden, Vogue, "’90s Icons Unite: Victoria Beckham and Shaquille O’Neal Spend the Day Together," 13 Apr. 2018
The building totals 135,000 square feet and is five stories tall.

— jacob beltran, San Antonio Express-News, "New Bexar jail intake facility approaches completion," 13 Apr. 2018
Obviously, this is more practical with a small shrub such as a Mugo pine than with a full-grown white pine or Austrian pine that is 20 or 30 feet tall.

— beth botts, chicagotribune.com, "Not like other evergreens: Pine trees require special pruning," 12 Apr. 2018
For those having trouble picturing it, that's about as wide as Shaquille O’Neal is tall.

— andrew goble, GQ, "The Best Projectors Make Every Netflix Session a Cinematic Experience," 12 Apr. 2018
Police describe the suspect as a tanned white male approximately 35 years of age and standing about 6 feet 4 inches tall.

— aaron randle, kansascity, "Police looking for suspect in Citizens Bank and Trust robbery in Kansas City," 19 Mar. 2018
Of the gorillas at the Philadelphia Zoo’s troop, Louis is one of the largest, weighing in at 450 pounds and standing six feet tall.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "Why This Gorilla Prefers to Walk Upright," 19 Mar. 2018
Yet the Bears of TechBoston simply seemed destined to break through to the state final after routinely standing tall against premier Division 1 competition this season.

— nate weitzer and greg levinsky, BostonGlobe.com, "Previewing Wednesday’s state basketball semifinals," 14 Mar. 2018
The culinary mecca standing tall along the Embarcadero is one of San Francisco’s most visible landmarks, and The Chronicle’s archive has hundreds of images made by talented photographers through the years.

— jessica christian, San Francisco Chronicle, "Ferry Building’s unique profile: The story behind the photo," 13 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tall

Middle English tal, probably from Old English getæl quick, ready; akin to Old High German gizal quick

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

tall Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of tall

high, tall, lofty mean above the average in height. high implies marked extension upward and is applied chiefly to things which rise from a base or foundation or are placed at a conspicuous height above a lower level.