high-octane
Americanadjective
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noting a gasoline with a relatively high octane number, characterized by high efficiency and freedom from knock.
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Informal. forceful or intense; dynamic; high-powered.
high-octane efforts to obliterate the competition.
adjective
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(of petrol) having a high octane number
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informal dynamic, forceful, or intense
high-octane drive and efficiency
Etymology
Origin of high-octane
First recorded in 1930–35
Explanation
Use the adjective high-octane for premium fuel that's better for a car's engine, or to describe anything particularly strong or powerful, like your dad's high-octane coffee that wakes him up in the morning. Different kinds of fuel have different octane numbers or ratings. The higher this number is, the better the fuel withstands being compressed in an engine, without pockets of air causing it to burn unevenly and cause a metallic knocking sound. High-octane describes good fuel, but it's also come to mean "supercharged" or "energetic." A high-octane play on the football field is thrilling to watch, and a high-octane movie will keep you on the edge of you seat.
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.
Perhaps you might want to time-travel to Eve Babitz’s glamorous and gritty Los Angeles, or bite into a high-octane thriller.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
It was always going to be difficult for the second period to match the high-octane tempo of the first, and instead the decisive moments, both mad and magnificent, were compacted into the final few minutes.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
He needed shot makers, relentless workers, and athletes with the legs to survive his high-octane style.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
The result is a high-octane cat and mouse hunt like no other in modern movie history.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
Craig had already assessed Barack’s character in the most thorough and revealing way he could—by including him in a high-octane weekend basketball game with a bunch of his buddies, most of them former college players.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
