Definition of high-hatnext
1
2

high-hat

2 of 3

verb

high hat

3 of 3

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of high-hat
Adjective
The sand crackling against the screen door became a high-hat drum. Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025 Over the last few years, a bevy of high-hat hotels have begun competing for the Big Apple’s best guests. Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2025 The bass, high-hat, guitar, and vocals all remain distinct in this busy mix and benefit from strong detail when the track fully kicks in. PCMAG, 10 July 2024
Noun
Listen to Pete’s old s—t, it was formulated, the high hats, the horn. Angel Diaz, Billboard, 28 Aug. 2025 Instead of high hats, use wall washers, which bounce light off the walls and space. Adam Shell, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025 Carter Beauford, perhaps the most unheralded drummer in music, busied himself with syncopated patterns and dizzying high hat on the song. Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024 Deja stifled a yawn and cranked up her music; the warring bass and high hat thrummed in her chest and kept her mostly awake. Brittany N. Williams, NOLA.com, 26 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high-hat
Adjective
  • And now House Velaryon—an aristocratic clan that, unlike most in Westeros, is Black—was engaging in it too.
    Daniel Strauss, Vanity Fair, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Bellucci plays Giulio’s mother in an aristocratic Sicilian family that leaves her feeling oppressed.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The arrogant, brooding youth is gone almost entirely, and someone far more circumspect and humbled kneels before his older brother.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The Fight for the Soul of College Football, as the Hurricanes’ bold, brash and arrogant style transformed college football into something closer to theater.
    Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Most telling is how openly Stassi disdains the idea of therapy, even insisting to the horror of pretty much everyone else onscreen that forcing hard conversations on reality TV is her therapy.
    Caroline Framke, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Far from the chumminess on display in the Epstein files, her targets express fear of and even disdain for one another.
    Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
Verb
  • Rice University researchers have found a way to isolate a single magnetic domain in manganese telluride, giving them a clearer view of its magnetic structure and a new way to control an electrical effect in the material.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Some of them, like Kirwin—a former gold and silver boomtown deep in the Absaroka Mountains—are impossibly isolated, accessible only by ATV.
    Téa Obreht, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Police soon had images of a suspect – wearing a hard hat, tinted glasses and a face mask – spray-painting the security cameras around Fandrich's car early that morning, to apparently conceal the crime.
    Lauren Clark, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Wilburn allegedly posed as a utility worker, wearing a hard hat and a reflective vest, to gain entry into the apartment, which was occupied by a man, a woman, and a 13-year-old boy.
    Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2026
Adjective
  • With technology enabling portable work, hybrid models improve retention and performance, challenging the notion that constant office presence is superior.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Honestly, our phones probably have superior tech at this point, but there is something special about bringing a digital camera with you to college parties and uploading the folder the next day (for better or worse).
    Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 11 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Anything less grossly disrespects the students they are elected to serve.
    Elaine Gantz Berman, Denver Post, 27 July 2026
  • The leak itself received a mountain of backlash from industry professionals, animators and others for disrespecting the years of work put into crafting the film.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Verb
  • But, no, the Kittrells attempted to stiff their creditors entirely by way of their Children's Trust.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Sutherland further emphasizes this point, saying that calcium and magnesium in hard water can be absorbed into the cotton, making the towels stiff and irritating.
    Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“High-hat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high-hat. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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