Added 9 October 2026

tall

/tɔːl/ adjective

In Latin: altus, prōcērus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tall at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having a top that is far up (contrast: deep ('having a bottom that is far down' ).) Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be deemed tall.)
Being tall is an advantage in basketball.
Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be deemed tall.)
Being tall is an advantage in basketball.
Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent.
Tall trees, at least about 30m high.

Someone or something that is tall.
A clothing size for taller people.
Do you have this in a tall?
A tall serving of a drink, especially one from Starbucks, which contains 12 ounces.

From Middle English tall, talle, tal (“seemly, becoming, handsome, good-looking, excellent, good, valiant, lively in speech, bold, great, large, big”), from Old English *tæl, ġetæl (“swift, ready, having mastery of”), from Proto-Germanic *talaz (“submissive, pliable, obedient”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, reckon”). Cognate with Scots tal (“high, lofty, tall”), Old Frisian tel (“swift”), Old Saxon gital (“quick”), Old High German gizal (“active, agile”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌰𐌻𐍃 (untals, “indocile, disobedient”).