tall
Americanadjective
-
taller,
comparative
-
tallest
superlative
-
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
-
an archaic word for excellent
Synonym Usage
See high.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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”
Explanation
If you can easily slap the ceiling with the palm of your hand, you're tall. The measure of your height tells you exactly how tall you are. You don't have to be tall to be a good basketball player, but it can come in handy when you're trying to get the ball in the basket. When it's not describing a person's stature, the adjective tall might refer to a beverage, like a tall glass of lemonade. A tall tale is an outlandish, hard-to-believe story, and a tall order is a really unreasonable request. And when you stand tall, you act confidently.
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:
Anderson, 25, is a sturdy 6 feet tall and one of the biggest players in the NWSL, making her an imposing presence in goal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
President Grover Cleveland presided over the official dedication of the statue, with an internal framework designed by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame, and which rose, on its pedestal, 305 feet tall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
We need to reemphasize how tall an order this is, and the amount of ground Democrats need to make up relative to 2024.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Cappadocia region attracts tourists from around the world, who want to see the ancient fairy chimneys - tall, cone-shaped rock formations that are created by volcanic activity.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Alex greets us when we reach the training room, and he’s tall and handsome and friendly.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
It also would give the City Council more flexibility in approving taller buildings and set deadlines to speed up rulings from the City Planning Commission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
For over $400 you can get an even taller one at Lowe’s, which sells a 15-foot talking, motion-activated headless figure holding a skull aloft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
That means the collision sent material nearly a mile into the air before it fell back into the sea, generating a tsunami taller than a 30-story building.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
As he harvested seeds from the tree, he noted he was taller than others present, adding: "I'm going to reach up here and get these higher ones."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
I noticed she was more slender than I thought she’d be, and taller, too.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
But while “Everest: The Other Side” includes countless breathtaking sequences of Earth’s tallest mountain and plenty of nail-biting anxiety in the eventual summit push and ski attempt, those moments are merely the film’s selling points.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Plans in place, George and I strapped our seven sequoias into a Pacifica minivan, whose 47 inches of vertical space were just enough to accommodate the tallest of our seven potted seedlings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The bank has never officially disclosed the total price tag for the skyscraper, the tallest occupied office building in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The current tallest building in West Hollywood is the 31-story Sierra Towers, a luxury condominium building on the city’s western border with Beverly Hills dating to the 1960s that has long been a celebrity haunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Erysichthon had the wicked audacity to cut down the tallest oak in a grove sacred to Ceres.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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