HIGHLIGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does highlight mean? 

• HIGHLIGHT (noun)
  The noun HIGHLIGHT has 2 senses:

1. the most interesting or memorable part

2. an area of lightness in a picture

  Familiarity information: HIGHLIGHT used as a noun is rare.

• HIGHLIGHT (verb)
  The verb HIGHLIGHT has 2 senses:

1. move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent

2. apply a highlighter to one's cheeks or eyebrows in order to make them more prominent

  Familiarity information: HIGHLIGHT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HIGHLIGHT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The most interesting or memorable part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

high spot; highlight

Context example:

the highlight of the tour was our visit to the Vatican

Hypernyms ("highlight" is a kind of...):

detail; item; particular (a small part that can be considered separately from the whole)

Derivation:

highlight (move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An area of lightness in a picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

highlight; highlighting

Hypernyms ("highlight" is a kind of...):

light; lightness (the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures)

• HIGHLIGHT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they highlight    ... he / she / it highlights   
Past simple: highlighted   
Past participle: highlighted   
-ing form: highlighting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

foreground; highlight; play up; spotlight

Context example:

The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics

Hypernyms (to "highlight" is one way to...):

bring out; set off (direct attention to, as if by means of contrast)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

highlight (the most interesting or memorable part)

highlighter (a fluorescent marker used to mark important passages in a text)

highlighter (a cosmetic used to highlight the eyes or cheekbones)

highlighting (an area of lightness in a picture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Apply a highlighter to one's cheeks or eyebrows in order to make them more prominent

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

highlight the area above your eyebrows

Hypernyms (to "highlight" is one way to...):

make up (apply make-up or cosmetics to one's face to appear prettier)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

highlighter (a cosmetic used to highlight the eyes or cheekbones)

 Context examples 

They also highlight potential new targets for treating hypertension.

(The genetics of blood pressure, NIH)

These results highlight the idea that genes can be read in different ways, Yewdell points out.

(Genes Can be Read in Different Ways, NIH, US)

The study highlights the critical importance of PIEZO2 and the senses it controls in our daily lives.

(“Sixth sense” may be more than just a feeling, NIH)

A member of the Europa Clipper science team, McGrath delivered a presentation to fellow team scientists, highlighting other Hubble observations of Europa.

(Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes, NASA)

This highlights its potential as a source of new trait variations that could help plants better cope with more extreme conditions driven by our changing climate.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)

If the items had been presented many times, the results might simply highlight neurons that respond to long-established semantic memories, rather than to words recently studied.

(Storing memories of recent events, NIH)

It also highlights how much of that diversity still remains to be discovered and described.

(Researchers find that Earth may be home to 1 trillion species, NSF)

Here we have chosen to highlight a group of the phosphoinositide targets of the PI3-Ks and their downstream targets.

(Phosphoinositide Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A microscopic technique in which the amplitude shift that occurs when light passes through a specimen highlights structures or details within the specimen.

(Phase-Contrast Microscopy, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A scan, whereby a radioactive tracer substance is injected into a vein in the arm, to highlight areas of the lungs that are not receiving enough blood.

(Lung Perfusion Scan, NCI Thesaurus)