high
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
4 characters
Language
English
word origin
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "high", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "high" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "high" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
high is anEnglishadj. It means: Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level: Pronounced /haɪ/. It ranks #172 in English word frequency. Often confused with his and him.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | high |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adj |
| IPA | /haɪ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #172 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for high is 4 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /haɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #172 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 27 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for high, with forms such as "hgih", "hhigh", and "higgh". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "his", "him", "hit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English high, heigh, heih, from Old English hēah (“high, tall, lofty, high-class, exalted, sublime, illustrious, important, proud, haughty, deep, right”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauh (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz (“high”), from Proto-… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is high, spelled H-I-G-H, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level:
- 2Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level:
- 3Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level:
- 4Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level:
- 5Having a specified elevation or height; tall.
- 6Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development; exalted in rank, station, or character.
- 7Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development; exalted in rank, station, or character.
- 8Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development; exalted in rank, station, or character.
- 9Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development; exalted in rank, station, or character.
- 10Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development; exalted in rank, station, or character.
- 11Extreme, excessive; now specifically very traditionalist and conservative.
- 12Elevated in mood; marked by great merriment, excitement, etc.
- 13Luxurious; rich.
- 14Lofty, often to the point of arrogant, haughty, boastful, proud.
- 15Keen, enthused.
- 16With tall waves.
- 17Remote (to the north or south) from the equator; situated at (or constituting) a latitude which is expressed by a large number.
- 18Large, great (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
- 19Large, great (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
- 20Acute or shrill in pitch, due to being of greater frequency, i.e. produced by more rapid vibrations (wave oscillations).
- 21Made with some part of the tongue positioned high in the mouth, relatively close to the palate.
- 22Greater in value than other cards, denominations, suits, etc.
- 23Greater in value than other cards, denominations, suits, etc.
- 24Strong-scented; slightly tainted/spoiled; beginning to decompose.
- 25Intoxicated; under the influence of a mood-altering drug, formerly usually alcohol, but now (from the mid-20th century) usually not alcohol but rather marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.
- 26Near, in its direction of travel, to the (direction of the) wind.
- 27Positioned up the field, towards the opposing team's goal.
Etymology
From Middle English high, heigh, heih, from Old English hēah (“high, tall, lofty, high-class, exalted, sublime, illustrious, important, proud, haughty, deep, right”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauh (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz (“high”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- (“to bend; crooked”). Cognates Cognate with Scots heich (“high”), Yola heegh, heigh, heighe, hia, hie (“high”), North Frisian hoog, huuch (“high”), Saterland Frisian hooch, hoog (“high”), West Frisian heech (“high”), Alemannic German hooch (“high”), Central Franconian huh (“high”), Cimbrian hoach, hòach (“high”), Dutch hoog, hooge (“high”), German hoch (“high”), German Low German hooch (“high”), Limburgish hoeg (“high”), Luxembourgish héich (“high”), Mòcheno heach (“high”), Vilamovian huch (“high”), Yiddish הויך (hoykh, “high”), Danish høj (“high”), Faroese háur, høgur (“high”), Gutnish haugar (“high”), Icelandic hár (“high”), Norwegian Bokmål høg, høy (“high”), Norwegian Nynorsk høg, håg, hå (“high”), Swedish hög (“high”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃 (hauhs, “high”), Vandalic *oas (“high”), Old French haut (“high”) (from Old High German hoh (“high”)); also with Ancient Greek Καύκᾰσος (Kaúkăsos, “Caucasus”), Latvian koks (“tree”), Lithuanian kúoka (“stick with thick end, pounder, pestle”), Bulgarian ку́ка (kúka, “hook”), Albanian çukë (“peak, summit, top”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hgih,hhigh,higgh,highh,hihg,ihgh
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for high
Misspelling Variants of "high"
Frequency rank: #172 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter H in our English index: