high

Less common meanings

12. 12
    on drugsadjectivecolloquial

    Intoxicated or under the influence of a drug, now usually cannabis or something stronger.

    She has never been high in her life.

    The smoke left everyone in the car slightly high.

    UsageCommon patterns: get high, high on something (high on painkillers).

    Similarstoned, intoxicated, wasted, buzzed

    Oppositesober, straight

13. 13
    sharp (sound)adjective

    Of a sound or voice, acute in pitch, of greater frequency and toward the top of the scale.

    Dogs can hear sounds too high for us.

    Her voice went high with excitement.

    UsageMeans pitch, not volume: for volume say loud (a loud voice). The opposite is low (a low note).

    Similarshrill, piercing, squeaky, treble, acute

    Oppositelow, deep, bass

    Note

    In acoustics, pitch follows frequency: the faster something vibrates, the higher the sound. High therefore describes pitch, not loudness. A high note can be sung softly, and a loud sound can be low. A note too high to sing lies above the singer's range, which is a matter of pitch rather than volume. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Faster vibration produces higher-frequency sound, perceived as higher pitch. spark.iop.org
    • A high note can be sung softly. Ordinary whispering uses turbulent airflow rather than the periodic vocal-fold vibration that produces a sung note. phys.unsw.edu.au
    • A loud sound can have a low pitch. open.edu
    • A note too high for a singer lies above their vocal pitch range. en.wikipedia.org
    • Pitch range and loudness are distinct, but vocal intensity and fundamental frequency are physiologically related. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
14. 14
    euphorianouncountable

    A spell of euphoria, whether from excitement or from a drug.

    The team rode the high of the cup win for weeks.

    Runners talk about the high that comes after a long race.

    UsageCommon phrases: be on a high, end on a high, come down from a high.

    Similarbuzz, rush, euphoria, thrill, glow

    Oppositecomedown, low, downer

    Note

    Euphoria pictured as altitude, so its ending is a fall: one crashes from a high or suffers a comedown. The word moves freely between drugs and ordinary elation. A pill can give a high, and a football season can finish on an exhilarating high, and only context tells which kind is meant.

15. 15
    jollyadjective

    Elevated in mood; merry or excited, mostly in set phrases.

    She came home in high spirits after the interview.

    Spirits were high in the locker room after the win.

    Similargood, merry, buoyant, cheerful

    Oppositelow, gloomy, dejected, somber

    Note

    Mood pictured as height, nearly always in set phrases such as in high spirits and a high time. That second phrase needs care, because the "utmost" sense has its own high time (it's high time we left), meaning the moment has fully come. Having a high time, as the Grateful Dead sang in 1970, means enjoying oneself, and the article and the verb mark the difference. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Grateful Dead sang the phrase “having a high time” in their song “High Time.” dead.net
    • The Grateful Dead recording appeared in 1970 on Workingman's Dead. en.wikipedia.org
16. 16
    adjective

    Of great importance and consequence, grave or solemn, especially in set legal and religious phrases.

    The charge was high treason.

    They kept the high feast with candles and song.

    Similargrave, solemn, serious

    Note

    Importance felt as weight, running in two directions. High crimes are grave, and a high festival is solemn, and the noun decides which mood applies.

17. 17
    adjective

    Of a way of living, luxurious and expensive in its pleasures.

    After the lottery win came a year of high living.

    He had a weakness for the high life.

    UsageMostly in high living and the high life.

    Similarluxurious, lavish, extravagant, opulent, sumptuous

    Oppositefrugal, simple, modest, austere

18. 18
    air pressurenouncountable

    In meteorology, an anticyclone, a broad region of elevated atmospheric pressure.

    Highs bring clear nights and frost in winter.

    The forecaster drew a big high across the map.

    UsageThe opposite is a low. Not the same as today's high, which is a temperature reading.

    Similaranticyclone

    Oppositelow, depression

    Note

    Forecasters' shorthand for an anticyclone. Anticyclone is the technical term, and high is the informal word for the same broad region of raised pressure, the H on a weather chart. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A meteorological high is a region of high atmospheric pressure, also called an anticyclone. marine.weather.gov
    • H represents high pressure on a weather chart. nesdis.noaa.gov
19. 19
    proudadjective

    Lofty in manner, proud to the point of haughtiness or boastfulness.

    Don't get all high and mighty with me just because you got promoted.

    The letter was written in a high and haughty style.

    UsageMost familiar in high and mighty, proud and bossy: don't get all high and mighty.

    Similarhaughty, lofty, arrogant, proud, superior

    Oppositelow, humble, modest, meek

    Note

    Pride has been "high" since Old English, where hēah could already mean proud and haughty. The King James Bible condemns "an high looke, and a proud heart" together as sin, and Clarendon mocks "high discourses" that came to little. The sense attaches most naturally to manner, such as looks, tones and talk, and through them to the person. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • High descends from Old English hēah, which already had the meanings proud and haughty. en.wiktionary.org
    • The King James Bible contains the quoted wording and calls a high look and proud heart sin. en.wiktionary.org
    • Clarendon uses high discourses dismissively about boasts followed by a small actual force. en.wiktionary.org
20. 20
    keen onadjective

    With on or about, keen, enthusiastic or favorably disposed toward something or someone.

    Critics were high on the film before it opened.

    The coach is very high on the new quarterback.

    UsageUse high on a person or plan (high on the new quarterback); context tells it apart from being high on a drug.

    Similarkeen, enthusiastic, bullish, excited, positive

    Oppositedown, negative, unenthusiastic

21. 21
    adverb

    In singing, playing or speaking, at an acute pitch.

    Pitch it a little high and the children can follow.

    Our tenor can sing high with ease, but the low notes in this piece give him trouble.

    UsageDescribes pitch, as in sing high or talk high. For volume, use loudly instead.

    Similarshrilly

    Oppositelow, deep

22. 22
    valued cardsadjective

    In card games, greater in value or rank than other cards, denominations, or suits; in poker, being the top card of a straight or flush, as in queen high.

    Before dealing, we agreed that aces would be high and twos low.

    Once the trumps were gone, her high clubs took the last three tricks.

    Oppositelow

    Note

    A card or suit is high by its place in the order, which is why the word compares so easily (a higher club, the highest trump). A high card outranks others of its suit but can still fall to a trump, so being high is not the same as taking the trick. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Cards have ranks within suits, and particular games can also rank suits. en.wikipedia.org
    • A high card can lose to a trump, so high rank does not guarantee winning the trick. en.wikipedia.org
23. 23
    top cardnouncountable

    In card games, the top card dealt or drawn, as when players compare what they were given.

    Before the first game we cut for high, and my uncle won the deal with an ace.

    To decide who would deal, we cut for high, and my uncle won it with a king.

    Oppositelow

    Note

    Many card games settle a question by comparing single cards, and the best card in the comparison is simply the high. It is the plain noun partner of the poker adjective, which names a whole hand after its top card. Here, by contrast, the card stands on its own. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Card games can settle questions such as who deals by comparing single cards. en.wikipedia.org
24. 24
    drugnouncountable

    A drug or other substance taken for the euphoria it brings; mostly used in the plural, as in legal highs.

    The police seized several packets of legal highs from the back of the shop.

    No one knew what was in the latest legal high to hit the clubs.

    Similardrug, intoxicant

25. 25
    near the polesadjective

    Of a latitude or region, far from the equator and toward the poles.

    Reindeer range across the high latitudes of three continents.

    The high Arctic has no trees at all.

    Similarpolar, far

    Oppositelow

    Note

    Latitude is counted in degrees away from the equator, so the bigger the number, the nearer the pole and the "higher" the place. Scientific writing builds regional names on this idea, such as the high Antarctic and high-polar areas, set against a "lower" Antarctic region nearer the equator. Altitude plays no part: a high-latitude coast can sit at sea level. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Latitude measures angular distance from the equator in degrees; larger magnitudes indicate positions nearer a pole. manoa.hawaii.edu
    • Scientific writing distinguishes high-Antarctic regions from low-Antarctic regions at lower latitudes. repository.library.noaa.gov
    • Scientific writing uses 'high polar' for regions at high latitudes. frontiersin.org
    • High latitude concerns distance from the equator rather than elevation, so it does not require land above sea level. oceanservice.noaa.gov
26. 26
    adjective

    Of a body of water, running with tall waves, rough, the swell as the measure: the lake was too high for the little boats, a high sea running in the bay.

    With the sea this high, the lifeboat stayed in.

    High seas kept the fleet in port for a week.

    Similarrough, heavy, stormy, choppy, wild

    Oppositecalm, smooth, flat, placid

    Note

    Said of the sea's surface, not its level. When the sea is high the waves are big, as in Agatha Christie's "the sea is as high as ever," with no boat able to put out. Keep it apart from the sense of a raised level: a high tide or a high river means more water, not rougher water. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The quotation occurs in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, spoken by Emily Brent, who believes the sea conditions prevent boats from putting out. namdu.uz
27. 27
    going offadjective

    Of meat, especially venison: strong-smelling and slightly spoiled, having begun to decompose.

    Some hunters let their venison hang until it is slightly high.

    After a week in the warm shed, the pheasants were too high to eat.

    Similargamy, rank, tainted

    Oppositefresh

    Note

    A game-larder word for hung venison and other game whose smell has turned strong. It is not always a complaint: epicures will not cook game until it is high. Beyond the kitchen it can describe anything that reeks of decay, as dead fish do in Stephen King's Needful Things. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Game was traditionally hung until it began to decompose, becoming 'high'. en.wikipedia.org
    • Epicures have preferred game sufficiently aged to be described as high. en.wiktionary.org
    • Needful Things is by Stephen King and contains a comparison using high to describe the smell of dead fish. en.wiktionary.org
28. 28
    noununcountable

    The top setting on the control of a stove or other appliance or device, giving the greatest heat, power, or speed.

    Cook the stew on high for four hours, then switch the slow cooker to low.

    She set the blender to high and let it run until the soup was smooth.

    UsageNo article: cook on high, set it to high, turn it down to low. The usual partners are low and medium.

    Oppositelow

    Note

    It covers heat, power or speed, so what high means depends on the machine: quicker heating on a slow cooker, faster on a blender. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A slow cooker heats more quickly on high. support.morphyrichards.co.uk
    • A blender's high setting gives a faster operating speed. producthelp.kitchenaid.com
29. 29
    adjective

    Showing firm ethical principles and worthy goals, and so deserving moral admiration.

    The charity was founded with a high purpose: to make sure no child in the city went hungry.

    For all his high principles, the senator quietly took money from lobbyists.

    UsageGoes with aims, not people: high ideals, high principles. For a person, say high-minded; she is high suggests drugs.

    Similarnoble, lofty, worthy

    Oppositebase, ignoble

    Note

    Old English hēah already stretched from exalted and sublime to proud and haughty, a split the word still carries in its arrogant sense. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Old English hēah had meanings including exalted, sublime, proud and haughty. en.wiktionary.org
30. 30
    adjective

    In soccer and similar games, of a player, line or press, positioned up the field toward the opponent's goal.
31. 31
    adjective

    Of a baseball pitch, crossing the plate higher than the hitter's shoulders and so outside the strike zone.
32. 32
    adjective

    Belonging to or spoken in the hillier or more mountainous part of a country, as in High German.
33. 33
    adjective

    Taking a position to an extreme, now especially strongly traditional or conservative, as in High Church or high Tory.
34. 34
    adjective

    Of a speech sound, made with the tongue raised close to the roof of the mouth, as in the vowels of beet and boot.
35. 35
    adjective

    In card games, strong enough to win, such as a card that can take a trick.
36. 36
    adjective

    Of a sailing vessel, heading close to the direction the wind is coming from.
37. 37
    verbobsolete

    To go up or ascend.
38. 38
    verbobsolete

    Variant spelling of hie, meaning to hurry or go quickly.