8 Wintry Words to Defrost Your Vocabulary


[hahyt] /haɪt/
extent or distance upward:
The balloon stopped rising at a height of 500 feet.
distance upward from a given level to a fixed point:
the distance between the lowest and highest points of a person standing upright; stature:
She is five feet in height.
considerable or great altitude or elevation:
the height of the mountains.
Often, heights.
  1. a high place above a level; a hill or mountain:
    They stood on the heights overlooking the valley.
  2. the highest part; top; apex; summit:
    In his dreams he reached the heights.
the highest point; utmost degree:
the height of power; the height of pleasure.
Archaic. high rank in social status.
Also, hight.
before 900; Middle English; Old English hīehtho. See high, -th1
Can be confused
altitude, elevation, height (see synonym study at the current entry)
3. tallness. Height, altitude, elevation refer to distance above a level. Height denotes extent upward (as from foot to head) as well as any measurable distance above a given level: The tree grew to a height of ten feet. They looked down from a great height. Altitude usually refers to the distance, determined by instruments, above a given level, commonly mean sea level: altitude of an airplane. Elevation implies a distance to which something has been raised or uplifted above a level: a hill's elevation above the surrounding country, above sea level. 5. prominence. 6. peak, pinnacle; acme, zenith; culmination.
1, 2. depth.
Usage note
Height, and not heighth, is considered the standard English form for this word. Unabridged
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Examples from the web for height
  • Lack of height can limit a quarterback's vision.
  • This height is also the frequent cruising altitude of commercial airliners.
  • I'm not keen on people lying about height or age.
  • Modeling is more about marketing than being perfect or a certain height.
  • His height and long arms help his pitches get right up on the hitters.
  • The extra height, density, and variety of plants bring this smaller planting into visual balance with the more expansive meadow.
  • The dominant trees in this moist forest are dipterocarps, with some specimens growing more than 100 feet (30 m) in height.
  • The mountains on the other side of the highway are well over 5 meters in height.
  • Classroom seating was done by height.
British Dictionary definitions for height


the vertical distance from the bottom or lowest part of something to the top or apex
the vertical distance of an object or place above the ground or above sea level; altitude
relatively great altitude or distance from the bottom to the top
the topmost point; summit
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial body above the horizon
the period of greatest activity or intensity: the height of the battle
an extreme example of its kind: the height of rudeness
(often pl) an area of high ground
(often pl) the state of being far above the ground: I don't like heights
(often pl) a position of influence, fame, or power: the giddy heights they occupied in the 1980s
Word Origin
Old English hīehthu; related to Old Norse hǣthe, Gothic hauhitha, Old High German hōhida; see high
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for height


Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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height in Medicine

height (hīt)

  1. The distance from the base of something to the top.

  2. Stature, especially of the human body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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Slang definitions & phrases for height



Excellent; unsurpassed; great, way rad: The gloves I got for Christmas are height

[mid-1980s+ Hip-hop; probably a shortening of the height of fashion]

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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