verb
hightail
HEYE-tayl
Hightail (verb) means to move away quickly, especially to flee or retreat in a hurry. Example: “When the police arrived, the thief hightailed it down the alley.”
verb
1
To move away quickly, especially to flee or retreat in a hurry.
"I want you to hightail your butt out of there before they come back."
"He hightailed it toward town."
"When the police arrived, the thief hightailed it down the alley."
"When I saw he had scored, I just hightailed out of there, because all those people started running down on the field and that's a lot more dangerous than playing."
— Dave Klein, The Game of Their Lives: The 1958 NFL Championship (2008)
How to use hightail
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo rush off, usually because you want to escape something.
Common pairings
hightail it out of here
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Word forms
- Third person singular
- hightails
- Past tense
- hightailed
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
When the police arrived, the thief _____ it down the alley.
Etymology
From high + tail, describing how fleeing animals such as deer raise their tails as they run away.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for hightail
See all rhymes for hightail →Frequently asked questions
What does “hightail” mean?
The word “hightail” means to move away quickly, especially to flee or retreat in a hurry. In plain terms, to rush off, usually because you want to escape something.
How do you pronounce “hightail”?
“Hightail” is pronounced HEYE-tayl (/ˈhaɪ.teɪl/ in IPA).
How do you use “hightail” in a sentence?
Here is “hightail” used in a sentence: “When the police arrived, the thief hightailed it down the alley.”
What part of speech is “hightail”?
“Hightail” is a verb.
