hightail
/ˈhaɪ.teɪl/
"hightail" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hightail” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To move at full speed, especially in retreat.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hightail · hightail · English
hightail · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hightail |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈhaɪ.teɪl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hightail” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hightail is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈhaɪ.teɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To move at full speed, especially in retreat.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for hightail, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From high + tail; refers to the behavior of fleeing animals, such as deer, that raise their tail when running away. The correct English form is hightail, spelled H-I-G-H-T-A-I-L.
Definition
- 1To move at full speed, especially in retreat.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hightail appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He hightailed it toward town.
I want you to hightail your butt out of there before they come back.
Etymology
From high + tail; refers to the behavior of fleeing animals, such as deer, that raise their tail when running away.
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.