hightail

English

WOTD – 7 July 2008

Etymology

high +‎ tail; refers to the behavior of fleeing animals, such as deer, that raise their tail when running away.

Pronunciation

(UK, US) enPR: hīʹtāl, IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪ.teɪl/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

hightail (third-person singular simple present hightails, present participle hightailing, simple past and past participle hightailed); usually with it; see hightail it.

(usually transitive) To move at full speed, especially in retreat.
He hightailed it toward town.
I want you to hightail your butt out of there before they come back.
As soon as she arrived, I hightailed out of there.

Synonyms

(move quickly): skedaddle