high·tail

(hī′tāl′) Slang

intr.v. high·tailed, high·tail·ing, high·tails

To go as fast as possible, especially in fleeing: hightailed out of town.

Idiom:

hightail it

To hurry or flee.

[From those animals that raise their tails when fleeing.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hightail it

- Refers to animals, such as mustangs and rabbits, that raise their tails high when fleeing danger.

See also related terms for rabbits.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

hightail it - flee; take to one's heels; cut and run; "If you see this man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up"

fly the coop, head for the hills, lam, run away, scarper, scat, take to the woods, turn tail, run, bunk, break away, escape

go forth, leave, go away - go away from a place; "At what time does your train leave?"; "She didn't leave until midnight"; "The ship leaves at midnight"

flee, take flight, fly - run away quickly; "He threw down his gun and fled"

skedaddle - run away, as if in a panic

References in periodicals archive

As for giving the impression that once Prime Minister he'll hightail it off to Brussels and tell the EU what for, I think not, yet again.

British have quirky, prudish mores when it comes to indiscretions among their politicians

Instead, you hightail it to the back of the line to give yourself more time to consider this conundrum.

WHAT'S THE VERDICT? Decisions, decisions: We've got to make them every day. But when it comes to choices, do you agonize over every outcome...or pick your selection in a snap? Take this quiz to find out

Clay Colby is certain his intended will take one look at the burned-out remains of his home and hightail it back to wherever she came from.

Turns out, you can buy love: Two new romances blend old-fashioned sweetness with rip-roaring adventure, breathing new life into one of the oldest tropes of the Western romance: the mail-order bride

NOON I'd pick up my husband and family and we'd hightail it to the Greek Islands, specifically Santorini for some exploring on scooters and cliff jumping into the Aegean.

My PERFECT day; SUNDAY PEOPLE * JUNE 10, 2018 Travel

Even so, you may unwittingly and happily agree to some harebrained plan or idea, and hightail it in time.

stars

Sometimes a pup with the best bloodlines money can buy will hightail it for no good reason.

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When they knock off their day school, they hightail it off to private schools and arrive home at 11pm.

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We sense that even as the photographer slowly, carefully took in her surroundings, she was poised to hightail it out of there at any moment, should the unwelcome sound of another's footsteps be heard in the distance.

Simryn Gill

They return as their Canadian cousins hightail it home in the spring.

Winter is perfect bird-watching weather