as in flees
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 hightails (it)
Verb
-
Following a violent outburst from Robert, Nancy gets in her car and flees in the last scene of the episode.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026 -
Mother Mary casts Hathaway as the title character, who was previously described as a Lady Gaga-meets-Swift hybrid who flees a tour and winds up seeking out an old friend and fashion designer (Michaela Coel) who helped shape her public persona.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As tensions escalate into violence, Tina retreats into the basement, seeking refuge from the chaos above.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The unconscious Moon retreats through your 12th House of Peace, trining take-charge Saturn in your 4th House of Care along the way.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The bee that flies alone gets swatted, or at least turned into a necklace at some rich lady’s garden party.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
-
But, Wiseman stressed, the blame doesn't lie with the toilet itself, which is a more compact version of the loo that flies on the International Space Station.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
With that in mind, here are a few free agent options who could fit the Yankees if Bellinger bolts.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The canine then bolts across the field and is immediately chased by one horse, with about five more joining in moments later.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
There’s a large homeschooling population, and, about fifteen miles from downtown, a Catholic organization runs a property affectionately known as Catholic Familyland—a cross between a summer camp and a retreat center.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
This is a crosswind throughout most of the course which generally runs from west to east.—
Terry Eliasen,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Best gets out of the vehicle, then runs away with police chasing after him.—
Dave Collins,
Hartford Courant,
12 Mar. 2026
-
In this delightfully science-minded historical fiction novel, one of the main characters runs away from her family to do astronomy while the other clocks up multiple major scientific expeditions under her belt.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Huskies then benefited from three errors to score three runs off sophomore reliever Lucas Wallace before senior Ryan Gervase pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Marsh and skipper Rishabh Pant (43 off 23) added 48 runs off 31 deliveries for the second wicket.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Austin escapes the clinic through the ceiling and calls Eunice from a cab to the police station.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The moving drama revolves on a young boy, the film’s titular character, who escapes the bombing of his southern Iranian village in which his family is killed.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
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
“Hightails (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightails%20%28it%29. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
