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high

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high

[hahy] adjective, -er, -est, adverb, -er, -est, noun
–adjective
1. having a great or considerable extent or reach upward or vertically; lofty; tall: a high wall.
2. having a specified extent upward: The apple tree is now 20 feet high.
3. situated above the ground or some base; elevated: a high platform; a high ledge.
4. exceeding the common degree or measure; strong; intense: high speed; high color.
5. expensive; costly; dear: The price of food these days is much too high.
6. exalted in rank, station, eminence, etc.; of exalted character or quality: a high official; high society.
7. Music.
a. acute in pitch.
b. a little sharp, or above the desired pitch.
8. produced by relatively rapid vibrations; shrill: the high sounds of crickets.
9. extending to or from an elevation: a high dive.
10. great in quantity, as number, degree, or force: a high temperature; high cholesterol.
11. Religion.
a. chief; principal; main: the high altar of a church.
b. High Church.
12. of great consequence; important; grave; serious; the high consequences of such a deed; high treason.
13. haughty; arrogant: He took a high tone with his subordinates.
14. advanced to the utmost extent or to the culmination: high tide.
15. elevated; merry or hilarious: high spirits; a high old time.
16. rich; extravagant; luxurious: They have indulged in high living for years.
17. Informal. intoxicated with alcohol or narcotics: He was so high he couldn't stand up.
18. remote: high latitude; high antiquity.
19. extreme in opinion or doctrine, esp. religious or political: a high Tory.
20. designating or pertaining to highland or inland regions.
21. having considerable energy or potential power.
22. Automotive. of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the speed of the engine crankshaft and of the drive shaft most closely correspond: high gear.
23. Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with the upper surface of the tongue relatively close to some portion of the palate, as the vowels of eat and it, which are high front, and those of boot and put, which are high back. Compare close (def. 53), low 1 (def. 30).
24. (of meat, esp. game) tending toward a desirable or undesirable amount of decomposition; slightly tainted: He likes his venison high.
25. Metallurgy. containing a relatively large amount of a specified constituent (usually used in combination): high-carbon steel.
26. Baseball. (of a pitched ball) crossing the plate at a level above the batter's shoulders: The pitch was high and outside.
27. Cards.
a. having greater value than other denominations or suits.
b. able to take a trick; being a winning card.
c. being or having a winning combination: Whose hand is high?
28. Nautical. noting a wind of force 10 on the Beaufort scale, equal to a whole gale.
–adverb
29. at or to a high point, place, or level.
30. in or to a high rank or estimate: He aims high in his political ambitions.
31. at or to a high amount or price.
32. in or to a high degree.
33. luxuriously; richly; extravagantly: They have always lived high.
34. Nautical. as close to the wind as is possible while making headway with sails full.
–noun
35. Automotive. high gear: He shifted into high when the road became level.
36. Informal. high school.
37. Meteorology. a pressure system characterized by relatively high pressure at its center. Compare anticyclone, low 1 (def. 46).
38. a high or the highest point, place, or level; peak: a record high for unemployment.
39. Slang.
a. a euphoric state induced by alcohol, drugs, etc.
b. a period of sustained excitement, exhilaration, or the like: After winning the lottery he was on a high for weeks.
40. Cards. the ace or highest trump out, esp. in games of the all fours family.
41. fly high, to be full of hope or elation: His stories began to sell, and he was flying high.
42. high and dry,
a. (of a ship) grounded so as to be entirely above water at low tide.
b. in a deprived or distressing situation; deserted; stranded: We missed the last bus and were left high and dry.
43. high and low, in every possible place; everywhere: The missing jewelry was never found, though we searched high and low for it.
44. high on, Informal. enthusiastic or optimistic about; having a favorable attitude toward or opinion of.
45. on high,
a. at or to a height; above.
b. in heaven.
c. having a high position, as one who makes important decisions: the powers on high.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME heigh, var. of hegh, hey, heh, OE hēah, hēh; c. D hoog, OHG hoh (G hoch), ON hār, Sw hög, Goth hauhs, Lith kaũkas swelling, kaukarà hill


1. High, lofty, tall, towering refer to something that has considerable height. High is a general term, and denotes either extension upward or position at a considerable height: six feet high; a high shelf. Lofty denotes imposing or even inspiring height: lofty crags. Tall is applied either to something that is high in proportion to its breadth, or to anything higher than the average of its kind: a tall tree, building. Towering is applied to something that rises to a great or conspicuous height as compared with something else: a towering mountain. 6. elevated, eminent, prominent, distinguished. 12. capital.


1. low.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To high
high   (hī)   
adj.   high·er, high·est
    1. Having a relatively great elevation; extending far upward: a high mountain; a high tower.

    2. Extending a specified distance upward: a cabinet ten feet high.

    3. Being at or near the peak or culminating stage: the high tourist season; high summer.

    4. Advanced in development or complexity: high forms of animal life; higher mathematics.

    5. Far removed in time; remote: high antiquity.

    6. Slightly spoiled or tainted; gamy. Used of meat.

    7. Having a bad smell; malodorous.

    8. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively large number of sound-wave cycles per second: the high tones of a flute.

    9. Raised in pitch; not soft or hushed: a high voice.

    10. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program.

    11. Eminent in rank or status: a high official.

    12. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors.

    13. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film.

    14. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.

    15. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    16. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    17. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    18. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

  1. Far or farther from a reference point: was too high in the offensive zone to take a shot.

    1. Being at or near the peak or culminating stage: the high tourist season; high summer.

    2. Advanced in development or complexity: high forms of animal life; higher mathematics.

    3. Far removed in time; remote: high antiquity.

    4. Slightly spoiled or tainted; gamy. Used of meat.

    5. Having a bad smell; malodorous.

    6. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively large number of sound-wave cycles per second: the high tones of a flute.

    7. Raised in pitch; not soft or hushed: a high voice.

    8. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program.

    9. Eminent in rank or status: a high official.

    10. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors.

    11. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film.

    12. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.

    13. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    14. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    15. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    16. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

    1. Slightly spoiled or tainted; gamy. Used of meat.

    2. Having a bad smell; malodorous.

    3. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively large number of sound-wave cycles per second: the high tones of a flute.

    4. Raised in pitch; not soft or hushed: a high voice.

    5. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program.

    6. Eminent in rank or status: a high official.

    7. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors.

    8. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film.

    9. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.

    10. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    11. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    12. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    13. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

    1. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively large number of sound-wave cycles per second: the high tones of a flute.

    2. Raised in pitch; not soft or hushed: a high voice.

    3. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program.

    4. Eminent in rank or status: a high official.

    5. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors.

    6. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film.

    7. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.

    8. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    9. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    10. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    11. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

  2. Situated relatively far from the equator: a high latitude.

    1. Of great importance: set a high priority on funding the housing program.

    2. Eminent in rank or status: a high official.

    3. Serious; grave: high crimes and misdemeanors.

    4. Constituting a climax; crucial: The chase scene is the high point of the film.

    5. Characterized by lofty or stirring events or themes: high adventure; high drama.

    6. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    7. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    8. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    9. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

  3. Lofty or exalted in quality or character: a person of high morals.

    1. Greater than usual or expected, as in quantity, magnitude, cost, or degree: "A high price has to be paid for the happy marriage with the four healthy children" (Doris Lessing).

    2. Favorable: He has a high opinion of himself.

    3. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    4. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

  4. Of great force or violence: high winds.

    1. Indicating excitement or euphoria: high spirits.

    2. Slang Intoxicated by or as if by alcohol or a drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.

  5. Luxurious; extravagant: high living.

  6. Linguistics Of or relating to vowels produced with part of the tongue close to the palate, as in the vowel of tree.

  7. Of, relating to, or being the gear configuration or setting, as in an automotive transmission, that produces the greatest vehicular speed with respect to engine speed.

adv.   higher, highest
  1. At, in, or to a lofty position, level, or degree: saw a plane high in the sky; prices that had gone too high.

  2. In an extravagant or luxurious way: made a fortune and lived high.

n.  
  1. A lofty place or region.

  2. A high level or degree: Summer temperatures reached an all-time high.

  3. The high gear configuration of a transmission.

  4. A center of high atmospheric pressure; an anticyclone.

  5. Slang An intoxicated or euphoric condition induced by or as if by a drug.


[Middle English, from Old English hēah.]
high'ly adv.
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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Slang Dictionary
high

  1. mod.
    alcohol or drug intoxicated. : They went out for the evening to get high, and for no other reason.
  2. n.
    a state of euphoria caused by drugs or alcohol. : His life is nothing but one high after another.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

high 
O.E. heh (Anglian), heah (W.Saxon) "of great height, lofty, tall, exalted," from P.Gmc. *kaukhaz (cf. O.S. hoh, O.N. har, Dan. høi, Swed. hög, O.Fris. hach, Du. hoog, O.H.G. hoh, Ger. hoch, Goth. hauhs "high;" also Ger. Hügel "hill," O.N. haugr "mound"), from PIE *koukos (cf. Lith. kaukara "hill"). Spelling with -gh represents a final guttural sound, lost since 14c. Meaning "euphoric or exhilarated from alcohol" is first attested 1627, of drugs, first recorded 1932. Sense of "proud, haughty, supercilious" (c.1205) is reflected in high hand (1382) and high horse (see horse). High seas first attested c.1380, with sense (also found in the L. cognate) of "deep" as well as "tall" (cf. also O.Pers. baršan "height, depth"). High-class (adj.) is from 1864. To high-tail "move quickly" is slang attested by 1890, from cattle ranches (animals fleeing with elevated tails). Highlands "mountainous district of Scotland" first recorded c.1425. High-roller "extravagant spender" is from 1881. Your Highness as a form of address to Eng. royalty is attested from 1402.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1high
Pronunciation: 'hI
Function: adjective
1 : having a complex organization : greatly differentiated or developedphylogenetically —usually used in the comparative degree of advanced types of plants and animals higher algae> higher apes> —compare LOW
2 a : exhibiting elation or euphoric excitement high patient> b : beingintoxicated; also : excited or stupefied by or as if by a drug (as marijuana or heroin)

Main Entry: 2high
Function: noun
: an excited, euphoric, or stupefied state; especially : one produced by or as if by a drug (as heroin)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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