tall

[ tawl ]

/ tɔl /

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See synonyms for: tall / taller / tallest / tallness 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.

OPPOSITES FOR tall

1 short.

See antonyms for tall on Thesaurus.com

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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”

synonym study for tall

2. See high.

OTHER WORDS FROM tall

tallness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tall in a sentence

He could not have imagined that buildings taller than mountains would one day crowd the island.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tim Krul, the substitute goalie, seemed a good foot taller than Jasper Cillessen, the man he replaced, and much the more daunting.
Costa Rica vs. the Netherlands: A Tale of Two Goalies|Tunku Varadarajan|July 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We walked through wheat fields taller than our heads and on raised narrow paths between rice paddies.
A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma|Katya Cengel|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even sitting down, he is perceptibly taller and wider than the older players.
Shaq, Year One|Charles P. Pierce|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

She, slightly taller, is arrayed all in white—creamy slacks and a virgin wool sweater.
Neal Schon and Michaele Salahi Are Tying the Knot and You Can Pay to Watch|Lloyd Grove|December 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But just wishing never made anyone larger or taller, not even a pig, and Squinty stayed the same size.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
Her tall figure—she was taller than he by at least three inches—was beautiful in its commanding, yet not vulgar, self-possession.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
His slight, thin, rather graceless figure seemed suddenly to expand, even to grow taller.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Half an inch taller than Kerry, she fully merited the compliment designed by that trite apothegm, "a fine woman."
Dope|Sax Rohmer
The taller buried her face for a moment in the red Jaqueminots and drank in their fragrance.
The Real Latin Quarter|F. Berkeley Smith

British Dictionary definitions for tall

tall

/ (tɔːl) /

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 forms of tall

tallness, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tall

tall

In addition to the idioms beginning with tall

tall order
tall tale

also see:

walk tall

tall

OPPOSITES FOR tall

Origin of tall

synonym study for tall

OTHER WORDS FROM tall

Words related to tall

How to use tall in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tall

Derived forms of tall

Word Origin for tall

Other Idioms and Phrases with tall