highland
1 Americannoun
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a region in N Scotland, including a number of the Inner Hebrides. 9,710 sq. mi. (25,148 sq. km).
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a city in NW Indiana, near Chicago.
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British. West Highland.
noun
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a council area in N Scotland, formed in 1975 (as Highland Region) from Caithness, Sutherland, Nairnshire, most of Inverness-shire, and Ross and Cromarty except for the Outer Hebrides. Administrative centre: Inverness. Pop: 209 080 (2003 est). Area: 25 149 sq km (9710 sq miles)
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(modifier) of, relating to, or denoting the Highlands of Scotland
noun
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relatively high ground
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(modifier) of or relating to a highland
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of highland
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hēahlond. See high, land
Vocabulary lists containing highland
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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:
The reader advances across Mr. McKay’s superb translation as though compelled by a fierce highland wind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Despite that short evolutionary history, the plants have adapted to remarkably different habitats across the islands, including humid highland forests and hot, dry lowlands.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
Interestingly, the same gene has experienced strong positive selection in central African rainforest hunter-gatherers and in highland populations of Ecuador.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
Whole sections of coastal Nha Trang city were inundated last week, while deadly landslides struck highland passes around the Da Lat tourist hub.
From Barron's ● Nov. 23, 2025
Steep terrain, persistent cloud cover, malaria, and risk of drought at lower elevations confine New Guinea highland agriculture to elevations above about 4,000 feet.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Highland Council receives core funding of £143 per child, per day for under 18s.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Her supporters pointed to her dedication to Highland Park and the work she’d done to help previously incarcerated youths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Highland previously invested in protein shake maker Huel and cycling training platform Zwift.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
On a patent lawyer's advice he found a secret location, far from curious Highland tourists and their cameras.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The group walked together for a few blocks, then got on the Highland Gardens bus at Dexter Avenue and Bainbridge Street.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
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Salah recently went for a hike and posed for a picture on a rock in the Trabzon highlands.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
Some visitors liken the landscape to the Scottish highlands, despite its tropical climate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The close-up image of the Moon's surface includes dark areas known as maria and bright areas known as the highlands.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
A flatbed truck carrying a tank rolled through the highlands, making its way through fields of blossoming pink almond trees and yellow wildflowers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Opposite that, a small campground lay in the highlands on a path that branched off to the right.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.