verb
hightail
HEYE-tayl
verb
1
To move away quickly, especially to flee or retreat in a hurry.
"When the police arrived, the thief hightailed it down the alley."
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
Word Forms
hightailed past tense, hightails singular
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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.