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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hightails (it)
Verb
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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
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After losing her job and her boyfriend, Jamie retreats to her small hometown in Texas, where her friends and memories of a fateful summer in high school turn her life upside down.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2026
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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
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Even when one gag flies past, three more follow immediately that do.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
13 Apr. 2026
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Seahawk flies overhead as small boats approach Orion spacecraft after splashdown.—
Miles Doran,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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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
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This is a crosswind throughout most of the course which generally runs from west to east.—
Terry Eliasen,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Best gets out of the vehicle, then runs away with police chasing after him.—
Dave Collins,
Hartford Courant,
12 Mar. 2026
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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
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Milwaukee had forced extra innings by scoring twice against Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth after Toronto got three runs off Trevor Megill in the top half of the inning.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Eovaldi gave up two runs off six hits in six innings of work with seven strikeouts, including the 1,500th of his career.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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South Korea has seen other high-profile zoo escapes in recent years, including a zebra that was found wandering the streets of Seoul for several hours in 2023 before being caught.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
10 Apr. 2026
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Abdul escapes with the help of a motorcycle gang.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Hightails (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightails%20%28it%29. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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