tall
Americanadjective
-
taller,
comparative
-
tallest
superlative
-
having a relatively great height; of more than average stature: tall grass.
a tall woman;
tall grass.
- Antonyms:
- short
-
having stature or height as specified.
a man six feet tall.
-
large in amount or degree; considerable.
a tall price;
Swinging that deal is a tall order.
-
extravagant; difficult to believe.
a tall tale.
-
He engages in so much tall talk, one never really knows what he's saying.
-
having more than usual length; long and relatively narrow.
He carried a tall walking stick.
-
(of a drink) consisting of liquor mixed with other ingredients and served in a large glass, as a cocktail.
We watched as he put together a Mamie Taylor, a tall drink with Scotch, ginger beer, and lime.
-
Tall, (of beverages at Starbucks coffee shops) being of a small size equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).
-
Archaic. valiant.
-
Obsolete.
-
seemly; proper.
-
fine; handsome.
-
adverb
noun
adjective
-
of more than average height
-
-
(postpositive) having a specified height
a woman five feet tall
-
( in combination )
a twenty-foot-tall partition
-
-
informal exaggerated or incredible
a tall story
-
informal difficult to accomplish
a tall order
-
an archaic word for excellent
Synonym Usage
See high.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tall
First recorded before 1000; Middle English: “big, bold, comely, proper, ready,” Old English getæl (plural getale ) “quick, ready, competent”; cognate with Old High German gizal “quick”
Explanation
If you can easily slap the ceiling with the palm of your hand, you're tall. The measure of your height tells you exactly how tall you are. You don't have to be tall to be a good basketball player, but it can come in handy when you're trying to get the ball in the basket. When it's not describing a person's stature, the adjective tall might refer to a beverage, like a tall glass of lemonade. A tall tale is an outlandish, hard-to-believe story, and a tall order is a really unreasonable request. And when you stand tall, you act confidently.
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:
As with his mother, who wrote tall tales during his Northern Irish youth, Cohn resorted to literary imagination and exaggeration to bring the story to life.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Some colonies grow more than a meter tall.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Matching the success of the 2025 film slate was always going to be a tall order, particularly when so many of Warner Bros.’ movies that year overperformed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
It had grown too tall for the glass house and had to be cut down and couldn't be stored.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Standing tall like real men. That’s why I headed west.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
As he harvested seeds from the tree, he noted he was taller than others present, adding: "I'm going to reach up here and get these higher ones."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“The inhabitants of Zvernec have a message for Rama,” she added, standing up a little taller.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
This season he’ll get a chance to show what he can do against taller players as a cornerback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Almost immediately, Spanish lawmakers started to debate a taller fence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He stands next to a taller guy who plays lead guitar.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
For reference, L.A.’s tallest building, the Wilshire Grand Center, has a ratio of roughly 10.5, depending on how you calculate the square footage and acreage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He’ll presumably be the tallest person in California carrying water bottles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
It is the second time in recent months that Catania International Airport, on the island of Sicily, has stopped flights due to emissions from Etna, which is Europe's tallest active volcano and erupts frequently.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Now a set of Georgian developers are planning to launch marketing on the Trump Tower Tbilisi, a skyscraper poised to be the country’s tallest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
I addressed myself to the tallest of the three.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions 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.
