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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China began conducting the contentious patrols after a February 2024 accident in which two Chinese fishermen drowned near Kinmen while fleeing from Taiwan’s coast guard.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025 -
About 10 minutes later, a suspect drove onto the grass near 14 Mile and Van Dyke and struck two pedestrians before fleeing the scene.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Yesterday seemed much more like a team retreating by choice, both through in-game changes and by the sheer fear of surrendering another lead — a fear that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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The video ends with federal agents retreating into a nearby building as protesters advanced toward their position, shouting and cheering.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In offseason videos, though, he’s been flying through the air and flushing down ferocious dunks, so the athleticism looks to be back.—
Stan Son,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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In one common attack, known as GPS spoofing, hackers transmit false location data that tricks a drone into flying off course.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Cool-season planting keeps parsley from bolting, or going to seed quickly.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
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Only this time, the quarterback exploded through the line, followed a crushing lead block by Skattebo and bolting into the end zone.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Opponents were running away from Watt and toward the somewhat undersized Herbig, and enjoying success.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Investigators determined that Jackson shot the victim and pointed the gun at his friend before running away with Guster, who drove them from the scene, police said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Beauty pageant contestants were seen in another video running off the stage as the earthquake started.—
Brandon Miller,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
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Rainfall from that storm was evenly distributed and soaked in rather than running off as flash floods.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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She was appointed solicitor general in 2023 by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift in the 2017 backfield, and 2018 with Swift and Elijah Holyfield both running for 1,000 yards.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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 8 Oct. 2025.
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