high-tech

American  

[hahy-tek] / ˈhaɪˈtɛk /

Informal, hi-tech

noun

1. high technology.

2. a style of interior design using industrial, commercial, and institutional fixtures, equipment, and materials, as metal warehouse shelving, factory lamps, and exposed pipes, or incorporating other elements having the stark, utilitarian appearance characteristic of industrial design.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or suggesting high technology.

high tech British  

noun

1. a variant spelling of hi tech

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high-tech ¹ Cultural  

1. Short for “high technology”; the term describes industries and firms that use or produce advanced technology, especially in electronics.

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high-tech ² Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for industry heavily dependent on recent laboratory discoveries. Manufacturing computers is a typical high-tech industry.

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Etymology

Origin of high-tech

First recorded in 1970–75; by shortening

Example Sentences

Wilson believes that Snow Secure—the high-tech insulated polystyrene blanket that unfolds like an accordion, then drapes over a pile of snow—is just the invention.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026

For 40 minutes Monday, it was just them, their high-tech lifeboat and the moon.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

They also carried other vital byproducts of petrochemical industries that go into agricultural fertiliser and high-tech products including semiconductors.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Small amounts of rare earth materials are used in a host of high-tech products, from EVs to fighter jets.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Thankfully, we now had more high-tech ways of keeping the proper timeline documented so that a Butterfly couldn’t change things without our knowledge.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• arduous
• convoluted
• difficult
• fancy
• hard
• intricate
• knotty
• perplexing
• problematic
• sophisticated
• troublesome