highlight

[ hahy-lahyt ]

/ ˈhaɪˌlaɪt /

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See synonyms for: highlight / highlighted / highlighting / highlights on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), high·light·ed, high·light·ing.

to emphasize or make prominent: The lawsuit against the landlord highlighted the need for a stricter building code.

to mark with a felt-tip highlighter: I started highlighting the text (yellow for important ideas, blue for dates and facts), but I'm not sure it was productive in the long run.

to create highlights in (a photograph or engraving).

to dye (parts of the hair) lighter.

to apply makeup to (the face) in places where light would naturally hit, to create a glowing effect: After blending the foundation, highlight the cheekbones.

noun

Sometimes high light . an important, conspicuous, memorable, or enjoyable event, scene, part, or the like: the highlight of his talk;the highlight of the concert series.

the area of most intense light on a represented form, as in a painting or photograph.

Usually high·lights . a section of hair that has been dyed lighter.

OTHER WORDS FOR highlight

1 stress, accent, underline, feature.

See synonyms for highlight on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of highlight

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; high + light¹

Words nearby highlight

Highlands, high-level, high-level language, high-level waste, highlife, highlight, highlighter, highlighting, highline, high liver, high-low

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT HIGHLIGHT

What does highlight mean?

To highlight something is to emphasize it or make it more prominent, as in Last class, the biology teacher highlighted the material we would need to know for the test.

To highlight also means to mark something on paper with a highlighter. A highlighter is a felt-tipped pen with a soft, translucent color used to mark words and images on a printed page. Many students and readers highlight passages in textbooks and other materials to help them remember the passages better.

A highlight is the best or most prominent part of something. You can often watch the highlights of a sporting event or TV show online. Your study notes might be just the highlights of your teacher’s lectures, and if you keep a journal or diary, you might only record the highlights of your day.

Example: I try to highlight the best members of a community in my stories.

Where does highlight come from?

The first records of the term highlight come from around the 1850s. It is an Americanism that combines high, meaning “strong” or “intense,” and light, meaning “something that gives illumination.”

Photography and beauty have specific meanings for highlight. In photography, a highlight is an area of intense light, used to create a desired effect. To highlight is to create such an area. In beauty, you can add highlights, or areas of lighter color, to your hair by dyeing, or highlighting, these areas. You can also add highlights to your face with the use of a makeup that will lighten the area of your face you apply it to in order to create a glowing effect. This, too, is called highlighting, and the makeup is called a highlighter.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to highlight?

highlighter (noun)
highlighting (noun)
highlighted (adjective, verb)

What are some synonyms for highlight?

What are some words that share a root or word element with highlight?

What are some words that often get used in discussing highlight?

How is highlight used in real life?

Highlights of sporting events and TV shows are very common online, making highlight a common word.

⏰ Bizarre scenes at #AFCON2021 as the match between #TeamMali and #TeamTunisia ends with 89:46 on the clock and no stoppage time..

📺 Watch the AFCON highlights here: https://t.co/I7R9xTy5k9. pic.twitter.com/KSKkaO2PYa

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 12, 2022

#Marvel has reminded fans to "stay… to the end" of its movies while highlighting 8 of their most memorable end-credits scenes: https://t.co/LX0InxC9gg pic.twitter.com/eHtnjj9lxi

— MCU – The Direct (@MCU_Direct) January 11, 2022

I understand everybody has a story & motivation, but ESPN doesn’t have to highlight the worst moment that happens in some of these folks lives. Am I tripping?

— Bradley Chubb (@astronaut) April 24, 2020

Try using highlight!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for highlight?

A. focal point
B. feature
C. dull
D. climax

How to use highlight in a sentence

I’m sure there are fans or media personnel who can’t wait to go back to covering Luka Dončić triple-doubles and James Harden highlights and all that.
What Happened In The NBA This Week?|Sara Ziegler (sara.ziegler@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 28, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
With the season having started at the start of August, those subscribers also get to watch 15-minute highlights of matches 24 hours after they’ve aired on broadcaster Sky Sports before they get to watch the full match a week after it has aired.
“It’s been a source of some much-needed income’: Sports clubs are building subscription businesses on Facebook|Seb Joseph|August 18, 2020|Digiday
We detailed our process for constructing those polling averages when we released them, so I’ll just review the highlights here.
How FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Presidential Forecast Works — And What’s Different Because Of COVID-19|Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 12, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
To recreate the event feeling it streamed old FA Cup games from the 1990s and 2000s once a week, supplemented with several recaps and story-focused highlights of specific players or teams.
‘The audience is still there’: How U.K. sports outlets pivoted to branded content, social video to keep fans engaged as seasons were delayed|Lucinda Southern|July 29, 2020|Digiday

Read on for highlights of what we learned from each of our panelists.
Watch: Quartz’s workshop on how to collaborate remotely|Heather Landy|July 23, 2020|Quartz
Their confrontation at dinner was, without a doubt, the highlight of the episode.
‘Downton Abbey’ Review: A Fire, Some Sex, and Sad, Sad Edith|Kevin Fallon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He is my favorite Woodstock artist, the highlight of the entire festival.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Art is something that has been a highlight at The Center since its first group show—“The Center Show”—in 1989.
The LGBT Center That Changed Our Lives|Justin Jones|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It can be really good if somebody is an amazing talent right off the bat or it can highlight your flaws.
Inside ‘The Sex Factor’: Where 16 Men and Women Vie For Porn Immortality|Aurora Snow|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The documents also highlight the apparent complicity by secular law enforcement in keeping some of these offenders out of jail.
How Sicko Priests Got Away With It|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There has been a highlight added along the bottom of the gun just forward of the trigger guard and just below Oswald's left hand.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
There is a highlight along the top of the rifle between Oswald's left hand and the point where the rifle passes his left shoulder.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
On Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 1, the highlight does not denote the top of the weapon.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
There is detail present that shows other areas of the gun, the breech, above the highlight.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Yes; I mentioned that the highlight along the top from the butt to the bolt is generally similar in that it is in a straight line.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for highlight

highlight

/ (ˈhaɪˌlaɪt) /

noun

an area of the lightest tone in a painting, drawing, photograph, etc

the most exciting or memorable part of an event or period of time

(often plural) a bleached blond streak in the hair

verb (tr)

painting drawing photog to mark (any brightly illuminated or prominent part of a form or figure) with light tone

to bring notice or emphasis to

to be the highlight of

to produce blond streaks in (the hair) by bleaching

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

highlight

OTHER WORDS FOR highlight

Origin of highlight

Words nearby highlight

MORE ABOUT HIGHLIGHT

What does highlight mean?

Where does highlight come from?

Did you know … ?

How is highlight used in real life?

Try using highlight!

Words related to highlight

How to use highlight in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for highlight