high wire

American  

noun

1. a tightrope stretched very high above the ground.

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high wire British  

noun

1. a tightrope stretched high in the air for balancing acts

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Etymology

Origin of high wire

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

high wire

Of course, one problem with walking a high wire is that your opponent can try to knock you off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2024

As they say, Blinken is on a high wire right now—and he’s got a lot of balancing to do up there.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2023

Three years later, German adventurer Alexander Schulz become the first person to walk to and from the summit of the Old Man of Hoy on a high wire.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023

Comedy is best when it occupies that high wire where humor and pain engage in a perilously delicate dance.

From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022

Along what had been country lanes rich with berries, high wire fences and mile-long factories stretched, and the yellow smoke of progress hung over all, fighting the sea winds’ efforts to drive them off.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck