tall

[tawl]

adjective

taller, tallest 

1. having a relatively great height; of more than average stature: tall grass.

   a tall woman;

   tall grass.

   Antonyms: short

2. having stature or height as specified.

   a man six feet tall.

3. large in amount or degree; considerable.

   a tall price;

   Swinging that deal is a tall order.

4. extravagant; difficult to believe.

   a tall tale.

5. high-flown; grandiloquent.

   He engages in so much tall talk, one never really knows what he's saying.

6. having more than usual length; long and relatively narrow.

   He carried a tall walking stick.

7. (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.

8. Tall, (of beverages at Starbucks coffee shops) being of a small size equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).

9. Archaic.,  valiant.

10. Obsolete.

    1. seemly; proper.

    2. fine; handsome.

adverb

1. in a proud, confident, or erect manner: to walk tall.

   to stand tall;

   to walk tall.

noun

1. Tall, (at Starbucks coffee shops) a small size of beverage equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).

tall

/ tɔːl /

adjective

1. of more than average height

2. 1. (postpositive) having a specified height

      a woman five feet tall

   2. ( in combination )

      a twenty-foot-tall partition

3. informal,  exaggerated or incredible

   a tall story

4. informal,  difficult to accomplish

   a tall order

5. an archaic word for excellent

Other Word Forms

• tallness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tall¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tall¹

C14 (in the sense: big, comely, valiant); related to Old English getæl prompt, Old High German gizal quick, Gothic untals foolish

Idioms and Phrases

• walk tall

Synonym Study

See high.

Example Sentences

It was “a tall dude with a flannel ... and blue jeans,” Ejae said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A new glass-walled "jewel like" tall building is set to join the skyscraper cluster in the Square Mile, after it was approved by the City of London Corporation.

Read more on BBC

Of the series, which is set in the 1980s, she said: "All these huge tall people seemed to come in here and they completely stripped anything that was current."

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Sir Keir stressed that the UK would "always stand tall and united" against those seeking to harm Jewish communities.

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For the second, he stood tall and refused to give himself away when Chemsdine Talbi bore down on him, repelling the Morocco international with his legs.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• big 
• great 
• lanky 
• rangy 
• soaring 
• towering