tall
tall [tall taller tallest] BrE [tɔːl] NAmE [tɔːl] adjective (tall·er, tall·est)
1. (of a person, building, tree, etc.)having a greater than average height
• She's tall and thin.
•tall chimneys
•the tallest building in the world
•a tall glass of iced tea
Opp: ↑short
2. used to describe or ask about the height of sb/sth
• How tall are you?
• He's six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds.
more at great/tall oaks from little acorns grow at ↑oak, walk tall at ↑walk v.
Idioms: ↑a tall order ▪ ↑stand tall
Derived Word: ↑tallness
Word Origin:
late Middle English: probably from Old English getæl ‘swift, prompt’. Early senses also included ‘fine, handsome’ and ‘bold, strong, good at fighting’.
Which Word?:
high / tall
High is used to talk about the measurement from the bottom to the top of something: ▪ The fence is over five metres high. ◇ ▪ He has climbed some of the world’s highest mountains. You also use high to describe the distance of something from the ground: ▪ How high was the plane when the engine failed?
Tall is used instead of high to talk about people: ▪ My brother’s much taller than me. Tall is also used for things that are high and narrow such as trees: ▪ She ordered cold beer in a tall glass. ◇ ▪ tall factory chimneys. Buildings can be high or tall.
Example Bank:
•She is quite tall for her age.
•Suddenly he seemed to stand taller.
•(a) tall building/tower/tree/grass
•Pollutants are dispersed through tall chimneys.
•She's tall and thin with light brown hair.
•What's the tallest building in the world?
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