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Synonyms

high hat

1 American  
[hahy hat] / ˈhaɪ ˌhæt /

noun

  1. top hat.

  2. table tripod.

  3. Also hi-hat, hi hat a set of high-hat cymbals.


high-hat 2 American  
[hahy-hat] / ˈhaɪˈhæt /

verb (used with object)

high-hatted, high-hatting
  1. to snub or treat condescendingly.


adjective

  1. snobbish; disdainful; haughty.

high-hat 1 British  

adjective

  1. informal snobbish and arrogant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. informal to treat in a snobbish or offhand way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informal a snobbish person

  2. two facing brass cymbals triggered by means of a foot pedal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
high hat 2 British  

noun

  1. another name for top hat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of high hat1

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of high-hat2

First recorded in 1915–20; v., adj. use of high hat


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:

"I get dressed up in my full regalia - lab coat, rosette and two foot high hat - and go door-to-door asking for signatures," he says.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2023

Here comes one now, rattling catastrophically, like Max Roach whaling on the high hat.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 18, 2019

I was so inspired by Clyde’s rhythms that in a couple of years my tapping grew into drum sticks with a full drum set of high hat, cymbals, bass and snare drums, with lessons.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2019

"It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious."

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2018

I remember the carriage, the horse going slowly, and up ahead the back of the driver with his varnished high hat, and Catherine Barkley sitting beside me.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

A friend admonished him for the high-hat dismissal, and a chastened Mr. Lloyd fished out the script for a closer look.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

My eyes digest the immensity of fallen trees bracketing the trail, the high-hat shaped fungi that spring from trunks and the thick folds of lichen hanging from branches that obscure the far-off canopy.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2021

Because the visual of that high-hat foam has become such a focus, sometimes people add too much soda to get it.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2019

DJDS, which is finishing up work on its third album, replaced those tones with finger snaps, placed a spotlight on Clark's rich rhythm guitar and added sibilant trap-style high-hat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2018

Kettle drums, bass drums, xylophones, Chinese gongs, vibraphones, snare drums and high-hat cymbals paraded by in carts, banged and stroked and tinkled enthusiastically by crew after crew of maddened tympanists.

From Pagan Passions by Robert Stanley

Anyway, ever since last year, when one high-hatted member was mugged while en route to the opera, there has been the feeling that to wear a silk topper is to invite trouble.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yankee Doodle Boy hits pretty hard at Cohan's early days when, as a flip, conceited kid playing in vaudeville, he high-hatted stagehands, raised hell over his billing.

From Time Magazine Archive

Later, driving through Cambridge with his high-hatted entourage, Edward of Wales espied a man in a boater as battered as his own, waved his bedraggled straw.

From Time Magazine Archive

Marines, high-hatted bigwigs and sheepish ballplayers, shuffling out of step.

From Time Magazine Archive

And waving a cheery farewell with his neat umbrella the good and high-hatted uncle passed away, leaving Cyril and Anthea to exchange eloquent glances over the shining golden sovereign that lay in Cyril's hand.

From The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904 by Various

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