Definition of: high

(hī) adjective
1. Greatly elevated; lofty.
2. Having a (specified) elevation: an inch high.
3. Of or pertaining to an elevated, or inland, district: High German.
4. Extending to or performed from a height: high jump; high dive.
5. Geog. Far from the equator: said of latitudes.
6. Remote; old: high antiquity.
7. Of exalted rank or estimation: high heaven.
8. Of superior character or kind: high art.
9. Important; serious: high crimes.
10. Expensive; costly: Rent is high.
11. Intensified; of great degree, measure, force, etc.: high wind; high explosives.
12. Fully advanced or culminated: high noon.
13. Haughty; arrogant: high words.
14. Strict, as in opinion or doctrine: high Tory.
15. Elated; merry: high spirits.
16. Complex: usually in the comparative degree: higher mathematics, higher mammals.
17. Slightly tainted: said of meat.
18. Music Acute in pitch; shrill.
19. Phonet. Produced with the tongue raised close to the roof of the mouth; close: said of vowel sounds, as the (ē) in bead: opposed to low.
20. Mech. Designating a step–up gear mechanism operating at its greatest speed transmission.
21. Colloq. Feeling the effects of liquor, drugs, etc.; intoxicated.
—adverb
1. To or at a high level, position, degree, etc.
2. In a high manner.
3. At a high pitch.
—noun
1. A high level, position, etc.
2. Meteorol. An anti-cyclone.
3. Mech. An arrangement of gears for the greatest speed transmission.
—on high
1. High above.
2. In heaven. [OE hēah]
—high′ly adverb
—high′ness noun Synonyms (adj.): elevated, eminent, exalted, lofty, noble, proud, steep, tall, towering, uplifted. Deep, while an antonym of high in usage, may apply to the very same distance simply measured in an opposite direction, high applying to vertical distance measured from below upward, and deep to vertical distance measured from above downward; as, a deep valley nestling between high mountains. High is a relative term signifying greatly raised above any object, base, or surface, in comparison with what is usual, or with some standard; a table is high if it exceeds thirty inches; a hill is not high at a hundred feet. That is tall whose height is greatly in excess of its breadth or diameter, and whose actual height is great for an object of its kind; as, a tall tree; a tall man; tall grass. That is lofty which is imposing or majestic in height; we term a spire tall with reference to its altitude, or lofty with reference to its majestic appearance. That is elevated which is raised somewhat above its surroundings; that is eminent which is far above them; as, an elevated platform; an eminent promontory. In the figurative sense, elevated is less than eminent, and this less than exalted; we speak of high, lofty, or elevated thoughts, aims, etc., in the good sense, but sometimes of high feelings, looks, words, etc., in the invidious sense of haughty or arrogant. A high ambition may be merely selfish; a lofty ambition is worthy and noble. Compare HAUGHTY, STEEP¹. Antonyms: base, deep, degraded, depressed, dwarfed, inferior, low, mean, short, stunted.