high

adjective

• 1of great vertical extent:the top of a high mountain the mast was higher than the tallest building in the city
• (after a measurement and in questions) measuring a specified distance from top to bottom:a tree forty feet high how high is the fence?
• far above ground, sea level, or another point of reference:a fortress high up on a hill
• extending above the normal or average level:a round face with a high forehead
• [attributive] (of territory or landscape) inland and well above sea level:high prairies
• near to the top of a real or notional list in order of rank or importance:financial security is high on your list of priorities
• [attributive] performed at, to, or from a considerable height:high diving
• Baseball (of a pitched ball) above a certain level, such as the batter’s armpits, as it crosses home plate, and thus outside the strike zone.

• 2great, or greater than normal, in quantity, size, or intensity:a high temperature fudge is high in calories
• of large numerical or monetary value:they had been playing for high stakes
• very favorable:nature had provided him with an admirably high opinion of himself
• extreme in religious or political views:the high Christology of the Christian creeds
• (of a period or movement) at its peak:high summer
• (of latitude) close to 90°; near the North or South Pole:high southern latitudes

• 3great in rank or status:he held high office in professional organizations
• ranking above others of the same kind:they announced the High Commissioner’s retirement
• morally or culturally superior:they believed that nature was driven by something higher than mere selfishness

• 4(of a sound or note) having a frequency at the upper end of the auditory range:a high, squeaky voice
• (of a singer or instrument) producing notes of relatively high pitch:a high soprano voice

• 5 [predic.] informal excited; euphoric:he was high on an idea
• intoxicated with drugs:some of them were already high on alcohol and Ecstasy

• 6 [predic.] unpleasantly strong-smelling, in particular (of food) beginning to go bad.
• (of game) slightly decomposed and so ready to cook.

• 7 Phonetics (of a vowel) produced with the tongue relatively near the palate.

noun

• 1a high point, level, or figure:commodity prices were at a rare high
• a notably happy or successful moment:the highs and lows of life
• a high-frequency sound or musical note.
• an area of high atmospheric pressure; an anticyclone.

• 2 [usually in singular] informal a state of high spirits or euphoria:the highs I got from cocaine always ended in despair the team is still on a high from Saturday’s victory

• 3 informal, chiefly North American high school (chiefly used in names):I enjoyed my years at McKinley High

• 4a high power setting:the vent blower was on high
• top gear in a motor vehicle.

adverb

• 1at or to a considerable or specified height:the sculpture stood about five feet high

• 2highly:he ranked high among the pioneers of twentieth-century chemical technology
• at a high price:buying shares low and selling them high

• 3(of a sound) at or to a high pitch.