height
Americannoun
-
heights
plural
-
extent or distance upward.
The balloon stopped rising at a height of 500 feet.
- Antonyms:
- depth
-
distance upward from a given level to a fixed point.
the height from the ground to the first floor; the height of an animal at the shoulder.
- Antonyms:
- depth
-
the distance between the lowest and highest points of a person standing upright; stature.
She is five feet in height.
- Synonyms:
- tallness
-
considerable or great altitude or elevation.
the height of the mountains.
-
Often heights
-
a high place above a level; a hill or mountain.
They stood on the heights overlooking the valley.
-
the highest part; top; apex; summit.
In his dreams he reached the heights.
- Synonyms:
- prominence
-
-
the highest point; utmost degree.
the height of power; the height of pleasure.
- Synonyms:
- culmination, zenith, acme, pinnacle, peak
-
Archaic. high rank in social status.
noun
-
the vertical distance from the bottom or lowest part of something to the top or apex
-
the vertical distance of an object or place above the ground or above sea level; altitude
-
relatively great altitude or distance from the bottom to the top
-
the topmost point; summit
-
astronomy the angular distance of a celestial body above the horizon
-
the period of greatest activity or intensity
the height of the battle
-
an extreme example of its kind
the height of rudeness
-
(often plural) an area of high ground
-
(often plural) the state of being far above the ground
I don't like heights
-
(often plural) a position of influence, fame, or power
the giddy heights they occupied in the 1980s
Spelling
Height, and not heighth, is considered the standard English form for this word.
Synonym Usage
Height, altitude, elevation refer to distance above a level. Height denotes extent upward (as from foot to head) as well as any measurable distance above a given level: The tree grew to a height of ten feet. They looked down from a great height. Altitude usually refers to the distance, determined by instruments, above a given level, commonly mean sea level: altitude of an airplane. Elevation implies a distance to which something has been raised or uplifted above a level: a hill's elevation above the surrounding country, above sea level.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of height
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hīehtho. See high, -th 1
Explanation
The noun height can mean the measurement of something from bottom to top. A pediatrician will measure the height of a child to make sure they are growing at a normal and healthy rate. Height derives from the Old English word hehthu, meaning "top of something." To measure your height, you measure the distance from the floor to the top of your head. The height of a mountain is its elevation above sea level (the height of Mt. Everest, for instance, is 29,029 feet). Height can also mean the most extreme or intense part of something: The height of cherry blossom season in Japan is late March through early April.
Vocabulary lists containing height
Geometry - Introductory
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Geometry - Middle School
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Measurement and Data, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At the height of the pandemic, he decided to start his own business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Do you feel like you’re better equipped or prepared to deal with the spotlight and attention that the show’s receiving now versus when you were doing “ER” at the height of its moment?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Even at the height of the Fifa scandal in 2015, Sepp Blatter was re-elected as president eight days before he eventually resigned.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
In another group, the tablet lay flat on a desk set at a lower height, which encouraged participants to lean forward and hunch over.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
“You aren’t funny, cadet,” he sneered, and I saw him stand up straighter in an attempt to offset the three additional inches of height I’d had on him since we were both eight.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Best versus the best, seeing them push the game to its heights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
At greater heights, droplet collisions, precipitation formation, and faster updrafts can reduce the total surface area of droplets, allowing supersaturation to build.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
In short, the value index rode those chip makers to new heights, then swapped them out for Amazon, Apple and Microsoft just as they were touching recent lows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Get Me Out of Here! and now Aitch has reached new heights - literally - by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
It made her all the more desperate to leave; heights always made her crave her wings.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
