hightailing (it)

verb

present participle of hightail (it)
as in fleeing
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 hightailing (it)
  1. fleeing
  2. retreating
  3. flying
  4. bolting
  5. running away
  6. running off
  7. running
  8. bugging out
Verb
  • Another relative, Lolo Villalobos, was the longtime mayor of Guanabacoa, Cuba, before fleeing the country after Fidel Castro took power.
    — Austin Horn July 30, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
  • Thousands of Ukrainians who arrived in the United States after fleeing the war expected to be away from home only briefly.
    — Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Surveillance video recovered by police showed the two men fighting in an alley and then Britt retreating from Fitzsimmons, according to the charging document.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • Flights at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, a major cargo hub, were disrupted during the night after a sighting of a flying object was reported and another object was found near a runway, police said Wednesday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, the squad were much further down the fitness road in the States, helped by playing two friendlies against Wisla Krakow and Manchester United before flying out.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • His startup, Foundational Industries, just raised a $25 million seed round, Fortune learned exclusively, to build factories where AI runs the whole operation rather than bolting automation onto an old assembly line.
    — Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 30 July 2026
  • To save the cost and effort of pumping millions of liters of seawater solely to obtain minerals, the researchers propose bolting modular reactors onto coastal desalination plants, which already move enormous quantities of the stuff.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 July 2026
Definition of bolting
Verb
  • Roo, who was microchipped, had recently been adopted before getting spooked and running away.
    — Kat Filardi, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Surveillance video, however, shows Harris running away as Hicks shoots at him.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
Definition of running away
Verb
  • Backstage, Juice Robinson questions where David Finlay and Clark Connors are running off to before challenging them to a Double Chain Tag Team Match at Redemption.
    — Rob Wolkenbrod, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • To keep water from running off, use a low and slow method such as a soaker hose or drip irrigation to allow the water to slowly sink into the roots for deep watering.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 19 July 2026
Definition of running off
Verb
  • Persistent heatwaves are not only driving up the cost of keeping society running and disrupting companies' production and operations, but are also putting pressure on European economic growth.
    — , CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There are also plenty of trainers – two-time Triple Crown winner Bob Baffert among them – who rarely balk at running Derby winners back two weeks later in the Preakness.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of running
Verb
  • There’s a wonderful small moment midway through the season where Reilly’s lightly bugging out in his dingy apartment, shaking out his limbs at sharp, insectile angles to get comfortable.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2026
  • Her baby's father answered the door with his eyes bugging out, and Frierson barged in to find two other guys, needles, spoons and powder on the table.
    — Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Definition of bugging out
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Hightailing (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightailing%20%28it%29. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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