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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hightail (it)
Verb
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Turkey has been further enhancing its border defenses to be able to respond to a potential influx of people fleeing unrest after mass antigovernment protests in Iran were met by a brutal crackdown in January that left thousands dead.—
Serra Yedikardes,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026 -
Deputies tried to pull the driver over, but the driver instead chose to flee, and during the chase, the driver allegedly turned his headlights off to try and evade deputies, the sheriff's office said.—
Jose Fabian,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On her island home in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, the shoreline has visibly retreated within her short lifetime, with beaches eroded, coastal trees uprooted and some homes now barely 3 feet from the sea at high tide.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
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The real horror in Frankenstein was a brilliant man who unleashed power and retreated from accountability.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The company, which has more than 100 full-time employees, has trained just over 50 people to fly its aircraft.—
The Los Angeles Times,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
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More than 20,000 of the more than 36,000 flights scheduled to fly to or from the Middle East between the start of the war and Wednesday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Heat also stresses the plant and can cause bolting.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2026
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At the rate business was humming along, ValenSil was on track to bolt on a third shift, add about eight to 15 more workers, and even purchase land for further expansion.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The cabinet changes come on the heels of both a political pact, recently signed by parties with the prime minister, and the launching of the registration process for those seeking to run candidates in the next elections.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
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In the Democratic primary, Amy Martinez-Salas, a legal assistant and UT Arlington alumna, is running uncontested.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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With Sunday marking the start of a four-game homestand that includes matchups against the Wizards on Tuesday, Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday and Orlando Magic on Saturday, this is an important week for the Heat to take advantage of in its push to escape the NBA’s play-in tournament.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
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Unlike that unfortunate royal, however, the hoard of coins successfully escaped capture; Anastasia, in reality, did not.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The teams went to intermission tied 1-1 when the Devils should’ve run away with the game by that point.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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After trailing by double digits in their previous three games, including their only two conference losses, the Billikens threatened to run away with this one early.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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West Virginia led 56-43 with 90 seconds left before TCU ran off seven straight points to provide some hope.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Mar. 2026
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After a few minutes, footage showed the Rangers fans running off the pitch and back into the stands.—
Luke Bosher,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Hightail (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightail%20%28it%29. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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