HIGHTAILING (IT) Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

hightailing (it)

verb

present participle of hightail (it)

as in fleeing

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening when a fight broke out, we hightailed it out of the bar

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for hightailing (it)

Verb

In 2009, two Israeli tank shells exploded immediately outside Al-Fakhoora, which was crowded with families fleeing an Israeli ground offensive.

— Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
As expected, the animals became anxious, either fleeing the threatening odor or freezing in place.

— Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of fleeing

Verb

Rivera said officials had received reports of the retreating shoreline in Chiriquí and Veraguas and were coordinating surveillance with Panama’s maritime authorities and security agencies.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Still, following the victory, Johnson quickly opened the door to the idea of Keenum retreating into a backup role behind Bagent.

— Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of retreating

Verb

Bombers flying from South Dakota to targets in Iran would cost more in fuel and flying time than those taking off from England's Cotswolds region, which is 3,900 miles closer to Tehran.

— Steve Hendrix, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
Experts who study bats say that, although residents should practice caution, the odds of getting rabies from the flying creatures remain very low.

— Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of flying

Verb

Dyson built the CameraJet around 16 million lines of code and a model trained on 470,000 dental images, bolting a camera, pump, fluid system and software onto a device people have historically cleaned with nylon bristles.

— Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026
Now every SaaS company that spent the last three years bolting AI features onto legacy infrastructure just got very expensive news.

— Rafael Flores, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of bolting

Verb

After running away, the suspect fired at two additional officers, Bethel said.

— James Cirrone , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
About 10 seconds after the crash, the 12-year-old was seen running away from the smoking vehicle, along with a 15-year-old female passenger.

— CBS News, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of running away

Verb

The Strawther familiar to Denver is the free-swinging gunner, trailing the play in transition to hunt 3s or running off weak-side screens or waiting for the ball in the corner.

— Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Images released by police showed one person ripping down the flag and then another person running off with the flag.

— Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of running off

Verb

Ties between the two countries remain strained over their long-running Himalayan border dispute, which erupted into a deadly skirmishes in 2020 that saw soldiers from both sides use rocks and iron rods in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
Lighting, of course, is all-LED, with the headlights coming with daytime running lights, with the system automatically switching between daylight running and low beam as conditions require.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of running

Verb

There’s a wonderful small moment midway through the season where Reilly’s lightly bugging out in his dingy apartment, shaking out his limbs at sharp, insectile angles to get comfortable.

— Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Her baby's father answered the door with his eyes bugging out, and Frierson barged in to find two other guys, needles, spoons and powder on the table.

— Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025

Definition of bugging out

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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hightailed (it)

hightailing (it)

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“Hightailing (it).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hightailing%20%28it%29. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hightailing (it)

verb

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