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definitions

hightail

[hahy-teyl]
See more synonyms for hightail on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object) Informal.
  1. to go away or leave rapidly: Last we saw of him, he was hightailing down the street.
Idioms
  1. hightail it, hurry; rush; scamper: Hightail it down to the grocery store and buy some bread for lunch.

Origin of hightail

1885–90, Americanism; high + tail1, in reference to the raised tails of fleeing animals, as deer or rabbits
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hightail

depart, gallop, bound, dash, course, escape, hie, hustle, canter, abscond, hotfoot, dart, decamp, bolt, hurry, flee, fly, career, flit, barrel

Examples from the Web for hightail

Contemporary Examples of hightail

  • The two hightail it out of there, but they ultimately get their pie and their happy ending, too.

    The Daily Beast logo
    12 Craziest Pie Scenes

    Marlow Stern

    November 21, 2011

Historical Examples of hightail

  • A good dozen, however, saw what was happening in time to swerve their mounts and hightail it away.

    The Pirates of Ersatz

    Murray Leinster

  • After taking so much we'd spook like crazy animals and hightail for the woods over not making footprints.

    Eight Keys to Eden

    Mark Irvin Clifton

British Dictionary definitions for hightail

hightail

verb
  1. (intr) informal, mainly US and Canadian to go or move in a great hurryAlso: hightail it
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