- (of a person, building, tree, etc.) having a greater than average height
- She's tall and thin.
- the tallest building in the world
- tall trees/chimneys
- a tall glass of iced tea
- He's grown taller since I last saw him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
Definitions on the go
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- used to describe or ask about the height of somebody/something
- How tall are you?
- He's six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds.
Which Word? high / tallhigh / 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.
- 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.
- She ordered cold beer in a tall glass.
- tall factory chimneys
- Tall pine trees line the roadways.
Word Originlate Middle English: probably from Old English getæl ‘swift, prompt’. Early senses also included ‘fine, handsome’ and ‘bold, strong, good at fighting’.
Idioms
See tall in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee tall in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe a tall order
- (informal) to be very difficult to do
great/tall oaks from little acorns grow
- (saying) something large and successful often begins in a very small wayTopics Successc2
stand tall
- (especially North American English) to show that you are proud and able to deal with anything
- Suddenly he seemed to stand taller.
walk tall
- to feel proud and confidentTopics Feelingsc2, Personal qualitiesc2
Check pronunciation:
tall