highlight
Americanverb (used with object)
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to emphasize or make prominent.
The lawsuit against the landlord highlighted the need for a stricter building code.
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to mark with a felt-tip highlighter.
I started highlighting the text (yellow for important ideas, blue for dates and facts), but I'm not sure it was productive in the long run.
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to create highlights in (a photograph or engraving).
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to dye (parts of the hair) lighter.
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to apply makeup to (the face) in places where light would naturally hit, to create a glowing effect.
After blending the foundation, highlight the cheekbones.
noun
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Sometimes high light an important, conspicuous, memorable, or enjoyable event, scene, part, or the like: the highlight of the concert series.
the highlight of his talk;
the highlight of the concert series.
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the area of most intense light on a represented form, as in a painting or photograph.
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Usually highlights a section of hair that has been dyed lighter.
noun
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an area of the lightest tone in a painting, drawing, photograph, etc
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the most exciting or memorable part of an event or period of time
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(often plural) a bleached blond streak in the hair
verb
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painting drawing photog to mark (any brightly illuminated or prominent part of a form or figure) with light tone
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to bring notice or emphasis to
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to be the highlight of
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to produce blond streaks in (the hair) by bleaching
Usage
What does highlight mean? To highlight something is to emphasize it or make it more prominent, as in Last class, the biology teacher highlighted the material we would need to know for the test. To highlight also means to mark something on paper with a highlighter. A highlighter is a felt-tipped pen with a soft, translucent color used to mark words and images on a printed page. Many students and readers highlight passages in textbooks and other materials to help them remember the passages better. A highlight is the best or most prominent part of something. You can often watch the highlights of a sporting event or TV show online. Your study notes might be just the highlights of your teacher’s lectures, and if you keep a journal or diary, you might only record the highlights of your day. Example: I try to highlight the best members of a community in my stories.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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highlightsimple
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highlightssimple
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have highlightedperfect
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has highlightedperfect
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am highlightingprogressive
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are highlightingprogressive
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is highlightingprogressive
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have been highlightingperfect progressive
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has been highlightingperfect progressive
Past
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highlightedsimple
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had highlightedperfect
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was highlightingprogressive
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were highlightingprogressive
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had been highlightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of highlight
Explanation
If you missed the big game, don't worry — you can still catch the highlights on the news. A highlight is the most important or memorable part of something. If you don’t have time to listen to your friend’s long, involved story, you might say, "Just give me the highlights." Highlight can also mean "a lightness or a bright area." If someone puts highlights in their hair, they are adding bright streaks to their hair. When used as a verb, highlight means "to emphasize." You may want to highlight the best grades on a report card while downplaying the lesser ones.
Vocabulary lists containing highlight
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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:
A vote or two against a hold would highlight how pressure to move is building inside the committee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Campaigners, lawyers and HR teams say cases like this highlight a shift that businesses should be paying attention to.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It might identify stocks with the best momentum” but not highlight ones to buy now.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
They highlight the company’s first-half revenue guidance, which triggered a 6% drop in the share price the following day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
I shrug and highlight random things in my math notebook.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
The decision to tap the former Bloomin’ Brands chief highlights a growing trend: boards calling in retired chief executives from the sidelines to help engineer high-profile turnarounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
So, Leeds would be paying for the high ceiling of a young goalkeeper whose highlights have largely come in the Championship with Burnley when he conceded only 16 goals in 45 matches.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
His research often highlights the benefits of the systems.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
"These are such large predators, it just highlights how much domoic acid there has to be in the ecosystem for it to affect them," Hazen told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Its beam highlights the dust motes dancing in the air.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
She highlighted how "corrosive" inflation can be, affecting lower-income households much harder than those with higher incomes, whose consumption has remained robust despite the surging inflation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
He highlighted strength across consumer payments, commercial and money movement solutions and value-added services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Fernandez highlighted that when softball was added to the Olympics in 1996, it was the pinnacle of the sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Joshua's comeback against Prenga was one of the bravest performances of his career but it also highlighted familiar vulnerabilities.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Union lawyers highlighted the inequities of the laborers’ lot by putting Louis Swift and other packinghouse owners on the witness stand to describe their own luxurious homes and lifestyles.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Judge Martínez-Olguín also pushed back against the companies' arguments, highlighting that "public's vital interest in antitrust enforcement" outweighed any temporary delay to the merger.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
But in many ways, the World Cup did a better job of highlighting what the world loves about America than any military flyover ever could.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
"Overall, our findings provide novel insights into the interplay between nanoplastics and bacterium-phage dynamics, highlighting increased microbial risks associated with waterborne nanoplastics," Liao said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
In June, Time magazine released its inaugural issue highlighting the 100 most influential people in sports, with James on the cover as “athlete of the century.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
She keeps highlighting a book title, but she can't get the computer to go to the next screen.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
