tall
Americanadjective
-
having a relatively great height; of more than average stature: tall grass.
a tall woman;
tall grass.
- Antonyms:
- short
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having stature or height as specified.
a man six feet tall.
-
large in amount or degree; considerable.
a tall price;
Swinging that deal is a tall order.
-
extravagant; difficult to believe.
a tall tale.
-
He engages in so much tall talk, one never really knows what he's saying.
-
having more than usual length; long and relatively narrow.
He carried a tall walking stick.
-
(of a drink) consisting of liquor mixed with other ingredients and served in a large glass, as a cocktail.
We watched as he put together a Mamie Taylor, a tall drink with Scotch, ginger beer, and lime.
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Tall, (of beverages at Starbucks coffee shops) being of a small size equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).
-
Archaic. valiant.
-
Obsolete.
-
seemly; proper.
-
fine; handsome.
-
adverb
noun
adjective
-
of more than average height
-
-
(postpositive) having a specified height
a woman five feet tall
-
( in combination )
a twenty-foot-tall partition
-
-
informal exaggerated or incredible
a tall story
-
informal difficult to accomplish
a tall order
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an archaic word for excellent
Related Words
See high.
Other Word Forms
- tallness noun
Etymology
Origin of tall
First recorded before 1000; Middle English: “big, bold, comely, proper, ready,” Old English getæl (plural getale ) “quick, ready, competent”; cognate with Old High German gizal “quick”
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.
In recent months, she was shown standing taller than her father, walking beside him, rather than following him.
From BBC
“She’s a bag girl at the general store with me. She plays volleyball. And she’s taller than me!”
From Literature
Rowan hugged himself and shuddered, sheltering behind the tall figure of Marlie from those terrible red eyes.
From Literature
As Variety pointed out, there is one thing we've all clearly learned from this year's class photo: "This may be one of the tallest groups of Oscar nominees in recent memory."
From BBC
He lunged for The Way to Rio Luna, but the man was too tall and held the copy up in the air.
From Literature
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.
