tall

[tawl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tall ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, tall·er, tall·est.

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

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.

high-flown; grandiloquent: 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.

Archaic. valiant.

Obsolete.

seemly; proper.
fine; handsome.

adverb

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

Origin of tall

before 1000; Middle English: big, bold, comely, proper, ready, Old English getæl (plural getale) quick, ready, competent; cognate with Old High German gizal quick

Related formstall·ness, noun

Synonyms for tall

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tall ON THESAURUS.COM

2. See high.

Antonyms for tall

1. short.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for taller

great, lanky, big, rangy, soaring, towering, hard, steep, giant, elevated, beanstalk, impossible, absurd, alpine, lofty, sizable, statuesque, lank, sky-high, altitudinous

Examples from the Web for taller

Contemporary Examples of taller

“They were longer-limbed, they rotated their torsos much faster, and sometimes they were taller,” he says.
The Battle of the Sexes Is Back: Serena vs. the Men
Kevin Fixler
August 28, 2013
History shows that in 80 percent of presidential elections, the candidate who is taller wins.
Strangest Presidential Election Predictors: 7-Eleven Coffee Cups & More
Kevin Fallon
October 4, 2012
It turns out Romney is taller than Obama, which, according to this theory, gives the former governor a leg up in November.
Strangest Presidential Election Predictors: 7-Eleven Coffee Cups & More
Kevin Fallon
October 4, 2012
John Kelsey is 47, taller and slighter and shier, with cropped hair and a tendency to withdraw under his baseball cap.
Bernadette Corporation: Mutating Art Collective Succeeds in the Avant Garde
Blake Gopnik
September 7, 2012
They are wider than a pickup truck, taller than a man, and strong enough to deflect the explosion of a car bomb.
On Memorial Day, a Soldier Honors the Fallen
Jonathan Raab
May 28, 2012

Historical Examples of taller

The men are taller than the average, and the women, relatively, taller than the men.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884
Various
Miss Merton is the taller, but there is something fierce in her eyes.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I wish you'd light up, evenin's, an' not set here by one taller candle!
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
Evidently Dick is the taller, for Mr. Don has to look up to him.
Echoes of the War
J. M. Barrie
She was a lithe, strong woman, taller than he, or else she would have fallen.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman

British Dictionary definitions for taller

tall

adjective

of more than average height

(postpositive)having a specified heighta woman five feet tall
(in combination)a twenty-foot-tall partition

informal exaggerated or incrediblea tall story

informal difficult to accomplisha tall order

an archaic word for excellent

Derived Formstallness, noun

Word Origin for tall

C14 (in the sense: big, comely, valiant); related to Old English getæl prompt, Old High German gizal quick, Gothic untals foolish

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

Word Origin and History for taller

tall

adj.

"high in stature," 1520s, probably ultimately from Old English getæl "prompt, active." Sense evolved to "brave, valiant, seemly, proper" (late 14c.), then to "attractive, handsome" (mid-15c.), and finally "being of more than average height." The Old English word is related to Old High German gi-zal "quick," Gothic un-tals "indocile."

Sense evolution is remarkable, but adjectives applied to persons often mutate quickly in meaning (e.g. pretty, buxom, German klein "small, little," which in Middle High German meant the same as its English cognate clean). Meaning "exaggerated" (as in tall tale) is American English colloquial attested by 1846. Phrase tall, dark, and handsome is recorded from 1906.

Idioms and Phrases with taller

tall

In addition to the idioms beginning with tall

tall order
tall tale

also see:

walk tall