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:
These towering cliffs may have reached roughly a kilometer in height and extended for thousands of kilometers along western North America.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The card, found in Mold, Flintshire, and which comes from the height of the campaign to win women the vote, was produced to raise funds and awareness for the movement.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
He consistently tracked between the zero and first percentile for height.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Said Tribak, who spoke to AFP shortly after leaving Ceuta at the height of the crisis, was one of them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Diminutive height, white plumage, yellow featherless legs and feet.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
The complaint arrives a year after the 2025 animated musical “KPop Demon Hunters” — which centered on Huntrix, a music trio who hunt demons — reached unprecedented heights, becoming Netflix’s most-watched animated original movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Mr. Cavanaugh reviews their thinking from the strategic heights and asks, “who wins wars, and what can we learn from those who do?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Pocognoli is taking over a Scotland side that have qualified for back-to-back European Championships and a World Cup, but the SFA is convinced the 39-year-old can take the national team to new heights.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Accurately measuring atmospheric density at these heights is therefore important for forecasting satellite motion and reducing the risk of collisions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Say, for example, three hearty camels for a dozen nervous yaks with a secret fear of heights.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
