adjective, noun, adverb
adjective (higher, highest)
from bottom to top
1 measuring a long distance from the bottom to the top:
What's the highest mountain in the US? * The house has a high wall all the way round it. * shoes with high heels * He has a round face with a high forehead.
OPPLOW
2 used to talk about the distance that sth measures from the bottom to the top:
How high is Everest? * It's only a low wall-about a metre high. * The grass was waist-high. * knee-high boots
far above ground
3 at a level which is a long way above the ground or above the level of the sea:
a high branch / shelf / window * The rooms had high ceilings. * streaks of high cloud * They were flying at high altitude. * the grasslands of the high prairies
OPPLOW
greater than normal
4 greater than normal in quantity, size or degree:
a high temperature / speed / price * a high rate of inflation * Demand is high at this time of year. * a high level of pollution * a high standard of craftsmanship * a high risk of injury * A high degree of accuracy is needed. * We had high hopes for the business (= we believed it would be successful). * A high proportion of our staff are female. * The cost in terms of human life was high. * high (= strong) winds
compareLOW(4)
containing a lot
5 ~ (in sth) containing a lot of a particular substance
OPPLOW:
foods which are high in fat * a high potassium content
rank / status
6 (usually before noun) near the top in rank or status:
She has held high office under three prime ministers. * The case was referred to a higher court. * He has friends in high places (= among people of power and influence).
OPPLOW
valuable
7 of great value:
to play for high stakes * My highest card is ten.
ideals / principles
8 (usually before noun) morally good:
a man of high ideals / principles
approving
9 (usually before noun) showing a lot of approval or respect for sb:
She is held in very high regard by her colleagues. * You seem to have a high opinion of yourself!
OPPLOW
sound
10 at or near the top of a musical scale; not deep or low:
She has a high voice. * That note is definitely too high for me.
OPPLOW
of period of time
11 [onlybeforenoun] used to describe the middle or the most attractive part of a period of time:
high noon * high summer
food
12 (of meat, cheese, etc.) beginning to go bad and having a strong smell
on alcohol / drugs
13 [notbeforenoun] ~ (on sth) (informal) behaving in an excited way because of the effects of alcohol or drugs
seealsoHEIGHT
IDIOMS
be / get on your high horse (informal) to behave in a way that shows you think you are better than other people
have a high old time (old-fashioned, informal) to enjoy yourself very much
high and dry
1 (of a boat, etc.) in a position out of the water:
Their yacht was left high and dry on a sandbank.
2 in a difficult situation, without help or money
high and mighty (informal) behaving as though you think you are more important than other people
high as a kite (informal) behaving in a very excited way because of being strongly affected by alcohol or drugs
high days and holidays festivals and special occasions
in high dudgeon (old-fashioned, written) in an angry or offended mood, and showing other people that you are angry:
He stomped out of the room in high dudgeon. * She stormed out in high dudgeon.
smell, stink, etc. to high heaven (informal)
1 to have a strong unpleasant smell
2 to seem to be very dishonest or morally unacceptable
moreatHELL, MORALadj., ORDERn., PROFILEn., TIMEn.
Rate this entry
About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for high is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is high a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, high is tagged as noun.
Does high appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — high appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
level / number
1 the highest level or number:
Profits reached an all-time high last year.
weather
2 an area of high air pressure; an ANTICYCLONE:
A high over southern Europe is bringing fine, sunny weather to all parts.
3 the highest temperature reached during a particular day, week, etc:
Highs today will be in the region of 25ｰC.
from drugs
4 (informal) the feeling of extreme pleasure and excitement that sb gets after taking some types of drugs:
The high lasted all night.
from success / enjoyment
5 (informal) the feeling of extreme pleasure and excitement that sb gets from doing sth enjoyable or being successful at sth:
He was on a real high after winning the competition. * the highs and lows of her acting career
school
6 used in the name of a high school:
He graduated from Little Rock High in 1982.
IDIOMS
on high
1 (formal) in a high place:
We gazed down into the valley from on high.
2 (humorous) the people in senior positions in an organization:
An order came down from on high that lunchbreaks were to be half an hour and no longer.
3 in heaven:
The disaster was seen as a judgement from on high.
adverb (higher, highest)
far from ground / bottom
1 at or to a position or level that is a long way up from the ground or from the bottom:
An eagle circled high overhead. * I can't jump any higher. * She never got very high in the company. * His desk was piled high with papers. * She's aiming high (= hoping to be very successful) in her exams.
value / amount
2 at or to a large cost, value or amount:
Prices are expected to rise even higher this year.
sound
3 at a high PITCH:
I can't sing that high.
IDIOMS
high and low everywhere:
I've searched high and low for my purse.
run high (especially of feelings) to be strong and angry or excited:
Feelings ran high as the election approached.
moreatFLYv., HEADn., RIDEv.
______________________________
WHICHWORD?
high / tall
High is used to talk about the measurement from the bottom to the top of something: The fence is over five metres high. * He has climbed some of the world's highest mountains. You also use high to describe the distance of something from the ground: How high was the plane when the engine failed?
Tall is used instead of high to talk about people: My brother's much taller than me. Tall is also used for things that are high and narrow such as trees: She ordered cold beer in a tall glass. * tall factory chimneys. Buildings can be high or tall.
______________________________
