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)
Verb
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Investigators said Kamara then exchanged gunfire with the second officer on scene before fleeing farther down the trail.—
Maggie Trovato,
Baltimore Sun,
9 June 2026 -
The poetic horror drama follows a young mother fleeing a toxic relationship and reconnecting with her grandmother, who carries wounds of her own.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Many are retreating from their DEI commitments.—
Sankar Sen,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
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However, over three days of fighting, a Union Army force sent Confederate soldiers retreating back to the South.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Arden, who wore a plaid jacket and laceless black sneakers, headed to the flying area.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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According to the researchers, bumblebee behavior is not limited to flying around and diving belly deep into pollen.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The series has developed a reputation for keeping children glued to the screen, as seen in videos that have gone viral on social media of babies bolting to the television upon hearing the marimba theme song.—
Iris Kwok,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
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At the same time, the number of new hires and layoffs both tumbled after bolting higher in March; and voluntary quits fell to their lowest level in nearly six years, an indication of workers’ slipping confidence in the labor market.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The bear bit through flesh and bone, dragging him for about 20 feet before dropping him and running away.—
Los Angeles Times,
Boston Herald,
8 June 2026
-
The bear bit through flesh and bone, dragging him for about 20 feet before dropping him and running away.—
Sonja Sharp,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Verb
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As Louderback was running off the field, he was told by several people, including MU coach Bob Stull, that there had been a fifth down.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2026
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Watering plants in pots takes much less time because all the water goes directly to the roots, instead of running off the soil surface.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
8 May 2026
Verb
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His nagging hamstring strain prevents him pretty much only from running full speed, but that was enough to land him on the 10-day IL.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 June 2026
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Ahead of this week’s record IPO, SpaceX disclosed that Google has agreed to pay it roughly $920 million a month for compute capacity at its Memphis campus, access to something on the order of 110,000 GPUs running into 2029.—
Robert J. Szczerba,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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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 16 Jun. 2026.
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