high and mighty

adj

"high-and-mighty" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“high and mighty” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Overbearingly arrogant; ostentatiously self-important or self-aggrandizing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-high-and-mighty · high and mighty · English

high and mighty · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for high and mighty
PropertyValue
Headwordhigh and mighty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “high and mighty” in English

high and mightysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

high and mighty is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for high and mighty, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is high and mighty, spelled H-I-G-H- -A-N-D- -M-I-G-H-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Overbearingly arrogant; ostentatiously self-important or self-aggrandizing.
  2. 2
    A courtesy title applied to members of the States General of the Dutch Republic

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how high and mighty appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The high and mighty are to be found at the Fairlawn Country Club on pleasant afternoons.
  2. Ever since she was placed in the gifted program, she's become so high and mighty that no one wants to be near her.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "high and mighty"?
"high and mighty" is spelled H-I-G-H- -A-N-D- -M-I-G-H-T-Y.
What does "high and mighty" mean?
As an adjective, "high and mighty" means: Overbearingly arrogant; ostentatiously self-important or self-aggrandizing.
What language does "high and mighty" come from?
"high and mighty" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list