hightail

American  

[hahy-teyl] / ˈhaɪˌteɪl /

verb (used without object)

Informal.

1. to go away or leave rapidly.

   Last we saw of him, he was hightailing down the street.

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idioms

1. hightail it, hurry; rush; scamper.

   Hightail it down to the grocery store and buy some bread for lunch.

hightail British  

/ ˈhaɪˌteɪl /

verb

1. Also: hightail it.  informal (intr) to go or move in a great hurry

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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

Example Sentences

Roughly midway through, Pynchon’s characters hightail it all the way to proto-fascist Budapest, where shadows more lethal than any Tommy gun begin to encroach.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

Read on, study up, then hightail it to your nearest butcher.

From Salon • Apr. 2, 2022

“But if not, we’ll hightail it out. We’ll get out.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 31, 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

“You two should’ve been in the underground auditorium five minutes ago. I suggest you change into your uniforms, make those beds, and hightail it down there.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston