tall

American  

[tawl] / tɔl /

adjective

taller, tallest

1. having a relatively great height; of more than average stature: tall grass.

   a tall woman;

   tall grass.

   Antonyms:

   short

2. having stature or height as specified.

   a man six feet tall.

3. large in amount or degree; considerable.

   a tall price;

   Swinging that deal is a tall order.

4. extravagant; difficult to believe.

   a tall tale.

5. high-flown; grandiloquent.

   He engages in so much tall talk, one never really knows what he's saying.

6. having more than usual length; long and relatively narrow.

   He carried a tall walking stick.

7. (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.

8. Tall, (of beverages at Starbucks coffee shops) being of a small size equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).

9. Archaic. valiant.

10. Obsolete.

    1. seemly; proper.

    2. fine; handsome.

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adverb

1. in a proud, confident, or erect manner: to walk tall.

   to stand tall;

   to walk tall.

noun

1. Tall, (at Starbucks coffee shops) a small size of beverage equal to 12 ounces (354 milliliters).

tall British  

/ tɔːl /

adjective

1. of more than average height

2. 1. (postpositive) having a specified height

      a woman five feet tall

   2. ( in combination )

      a twenty-foot-tall partition

3. informal exaggerated or incredible

   a tall story

4. informal difficult to accomplish

   a tall order

5. an archaic word for excellent

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tall Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tall

• walk tall

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Related Words

See high.

Other Word Forms

• tallness
  noun

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

Three years ago he expanded into a larger studio to create towering sculptures built from thousands of tiny, hand cut mirrored shards that can stretch up to 27 feet tall and weigh a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

It was drizzling Saturday evening in Torrance outside the multi-gabled house with tall hedges house where Allen is believed to have lived.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

Starship stands some 408 feet tall, with the booster and upper stage stacked on top of one another.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

"It weighs 8.2kg, measures nearly 30cm in diameter and stands about 46cm tall - almost four times the size of a typical astrolabe from 17th Century India," said Carter.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

She sits up tall and looks me in the eye.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• big
• great
• lanky
• rangy
• soaring
• towering