hightail
Americanverb (used without object)
idioms
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hightailsimple
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hightailssimple
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have hightailedperfect
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has hightailedperfect
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am hightailingprogressive
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are hightailingprogressive
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is hightailingprogressive
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have been hightailingperfect progressive
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has been hightailingperfect progressive
Past
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hightailedsimple
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had hightailedperfect
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was hightailingprogressive
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were hightailingprogressive
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had been hightailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hightail
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; high + tail 1, in reference to the raised tails of fleeing animals, as deer or rabbits
Explanation
To hightail is to leave or move very quickly. Your plan might be to hightail to New York City as soon as you graduate from high school. Hightail is a useful, informal verb that means "get out fast" or "make a beeline for" or "cut and run." Bank robbers might jump in their getaway car and hightail it to their hideout, and a shivering snowshoer might hightail it to a cabin with a warm fireplace after hours out in the snow. Hightail is 1890s U.S. cattle ranch slang, from the way a running cow or bull raises its tail.
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:
Unmentioned in his column is the fact that Rose Bowl’s primary tenant, UCLA, is currently trying to hightail it for the sleek confines of SoFi Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
Read on, study up, then hightail it to your nearest butcher.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2022
So, over the next 10 days, let’s dig deeper into each specific position — who’s expected to start, who’s pushing for playing time, and who may be tempted to hightail it to the transfer portal.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2021
“I feel hopeful but not necessarily optimistic,” said Kimmel, who planned to hightail it out of Washington after the show.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2017
“So we catch the tram, make our way to this Atrium, snag the Story Box, and hightail it out of there. Sounds easy enough.”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Carrillo and Peña track Gacha in Cartagena, Murphy takes steps to protect Gaviria, and Connie hightails it out of town with Elisa before her husband gets charged with treason for harboring a Communist fugitive.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2015
In the show, Gallagher plays a shameless - and penniless - producer who hightails it out of Chicago after his stage version of “Joan of Arc” flops.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 13, 2015
In the show, Gallagher plays a shameless — and penniless — producer who hightails it out of Chicago after his stage version of "Joan of Arc" flops.
From US News ● Mar. 13, 2015
And then there’s the Setrakian voiceover narration at the end, which ridiculously mentions “a small world,” while the Scooby gang hightails it and tries to mentally regroup against the fiery New York skyline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2014
“He licks that pan clean and then hightails it outta there so fast I hardly get so much as a glimpse of him.”
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
Ratliff hightailed it back to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a few days of classes before returning to the Indianapolis bubble for the Tide’s next game against UCLA, putting another thousand miles on his black Honda Civic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
I hightailed it back here, to the north shore of Hawaii, and I thought that was it.
From Fox News ● Sep. 14, 2021
After he hightailed it to Australia with his mistress and the couple divorced, Muriel co-founded Femina, Britain’s first feminist press.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2014
"This is my dare to be great situation," he was heard muttering, along with something about his heart and a pen, as he hightailed it out of the Cavs' facility.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2014
On the double, Jerry G. hightailed it for the highway.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
McCartney happened to be visiting Lennon in New York at the time and they briefly considered shocking the world by hightailing it down to Rockefeller Center, but the idea was abandoned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025
The brief video ends with the deer hightailing it away from the school.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
As we entered the city, we saw Saudi troops in commandeered fire trucks, hightailing it south to escape the fighting.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2023
According to Altucher, the pandemic has turned Midtown into Ghost Town and sent his Wall Street buddies hightailing it for the exit, probably never to return.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 29, 2020
I think about hightailing it into the woods, but I’m frozen.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
