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height

 - 5 dictionary results

height

  [hahyt]
Use height in a Sentence
–noun
1. extent or distance upward: The balloon stopped rising at a height of 500 feet.
2. distance upward from a given level to a fixed point: the height from the ground to the first floor; the height of an animal at the shoulder.
3. the distance between the lowest and highest points of a person standing upright; stature: She is five feet in height.
4. considerable or great altitude or elevation: the height of the mountains.
5. Often, heights.
a. a high place above a level; a hill or mountain: They stood on the heights overlooking the valley.
b. the highest part; top; apex; summit: In his dreams he reached the heights.
6. the highest point; utmost degree: the height of power; the height of pleasure.
7. Archaic. high rank in social status.
Also, hight.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE hīehtho. See high, -th 1

Synonyms:
3. tallness. Height, altitude, elevation refer to distance above a level. Height denotes extent upward (as from foot to head) as well as any measurable distance above a given level: The tree grew to a height of ten feet. They looked down from a great height. Altitude usually refers to the distance, determined by instruments, above a given level, commonly mean sea level: altitude of an airplane. Elevation implies a distance to which something has been raised or uplifted above a level: a hill's elevation above the surrounding country, above sea level. 5. prominence. 6. peak, pinnacle; acme, zenith; culmination.

Antonyms:
1, 2. depth.

Usage note:
Height, and not heighth, is considered the standard English form for this word.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To height
height   (hīt)   
n.  

    1. Abbr. h The distance from the base of something to the top.

    2. Elevation above a given level, as of the sun or a star above the horizon; altitude. See Synonyms at elevation.

    3. The condition or attribute of being relatively or sufficiently high or tall.

    4. Stature, especially of the human body.

    5. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.

    6. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.

    7. A high point or position.

    8. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.

    9. Archaic Loftiness of mind.

    10. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).

    1. The condition or attribute of being relatively or sufficiently high or tall.

    2. Stature, especially of the human body.

    3. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.

    4. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.

    5. A high point or position.

    6. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.

    7. Archaic Loftiness of mind.

    8. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).

  3. The highest or uppermost point; the summit or apex.

    1. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.

    2. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.

    3. A high point or position.

    4. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.

    5. Archaic Loftiness of mind.

    6. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).

  5. An eminence, such as a hill or mountain. Often used in the plural.

    1. A high point or position.

    2. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.

    3. Archaic Loftiness of mind.

    4. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).

    1. Archaic Loftiness of mind.

    2. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).


[Middle English, from Old English hēhthu, hēahthu.]
Usage Note: The pronunciation of height with a final (th), (hīth), which is rarely heard now, reflects the original spelling and pronunciation of the word in Old English. During the Middle English period, the (th) varied with (t), with the final (t) predominating after the 15th century. Another pronunciation, with a (th) sound coming after (t), (hītth), is often heard, but it is generally regarded as nonstandard. In a recent survey, 90 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of this pronunciation, which probably came about by association with width, breadth, and length.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

height 
O.E. hiehþu, Anglian hehþo "highest part or point, summit," from root of heah "high" + -itha Gmc. abstract noun suffix (cf. O.N. hæð, O.H.G. hohida, Goth. hauhiþa "height"). The modern pronunciation with -t not established till 18c., and heighth is still colloquial.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: height
Pronunciation: 'hIt, 'hItth
Function: noun
: the distance from the bottom to the top of something standing upright; especially : the distance from the lowest to the highest point of an animal body especially of a human being in a natural standing position or from the lowest point to an arbitrarily chosen upper pointheight> height at the shoulder>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

height (hīt)
n.

  1. The distance from the base of something to the top.

  2. Stature, especially of the human body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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