as in to flee
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
when a fight broke out, we hightailed it out of the bar
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hightail (it)
Verb
-
The legislation comes as the country grapples with a severe demographic crisis, exacerbated by the ongoing war with Russia, which has forced millions of Ukrainians to flee abroad.—
Isabel van Brugen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025 -
The conflict entered its sixth night, as Israel and Iran traded airstrikes that have sent civilians fleeing for safety in Tehran and Tel Aviv.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
The rally came as oil prices retreated from recent highs amid reports that Iran seeks to de-escalate tensions with Israel.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
-
While Shell has retreated from some of its low-carbon ventures, the company remains committed to EVs and has more than 75,000 charge points across the world.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
17 June 2025
Verb
-
The mission is flying to the orbiting lab in a brand-new SpaceX Dragon and will spend about two weeks up there, during which time the crew will conduct about 60 different scientific experiments.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
25 June 2025
-
Nearly two weeks ago, 62 carbon-spewing private jets reportedly flew world leaders into Kananaskis, Canada, for the G7 summit, raising serious questions about the travel choices of those who are supposed to be tackling climate change and other global crises.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Verb
-
And this double-U structure is bolted to a square base that sits on a rotating support for 360-degree horizontal swivel.—
Paul Ridden
June 25,
New Atlas,
25 June 2025
-
While legacy automakers outsource software and tech firms try to bolt autonomy onto third-party hardware, Tesla owns the entire autonomy stack.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
Those who run won’t be schlepping all the political baggage that Newsom has to tote. Such as? Rampant homelessness.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2025
-
Later at an event, Sawaya ran into Foreman, who asked him to reconsider applying, saying the hiring committee would try to keep his name out of the public eye.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 June 2025
Verb
-
Police on Friday captured one of the New Orleans parish inmates who escaped six weeks ago in a jailbreak Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the worst in recent state history.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
-
In such places, summer becomes a never-ending fantasy, a pleasure dome that characters cannot escape.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Dogs everywhere — barking, panting and running away from their owners — was the scene Tuesday at a pop-up wellness clinic for pets at the Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Campus Place in downtown St. Paul.—
Safiya Mohamed,
Twin Cities,
17 June 2025
-
Police accused Arturo Gamboa, 24, of brandishing a rifle at demonstrators and running away from two peacekeepers, who ordered him to drop the weapon.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
Verb
-
Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil then hit back-to-back home runs off Taijuan Walker in the sixth inning, but the Mets stopped producing from there.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
-
The gunman, who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black shorts with flowers printed on them ran off down Marcy Ave.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
20 June 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Hightail (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightail%20%28it%29. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share