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Glite Dictionary
to fly high

to fly high

8 3.8
To feel very happy and successful after a big achievement
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : sentirse en la cima
  • She felt like she was flying high after receiving praise for her project.
  • flying high now

What is the branch that's holding you back from flying high?

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Examples

  • After winning the championship, the team was flying high with excitement.

  • Ambitions always fly high at the Olympics, but it looks like at next year's Paris Olympics, visitors might be flying high too, at least when they can afford it.

  • I was flying high before that war.

    The Hunting Party (2007)

  • What this is all leading up to is that I am flying high today.

    Blog text (1)

  • I was flying high on my new discoveries.

    Blog text (5)

  • I'm flying high, hiding in the sun.

    The Mummy Returns (2001)

  • I mean, you're flying high.

    Better Man (2024)

  • BC was flying high all afternoon versus Notre Dame in a 63-0 win (Vincent Karabatsos photo).

    Blog text (33)

  • Once his novel became a bestseller, the author was flying high with happiness.

Synonyms

to thrive
vsto fly high
241 3.2

To grow well and be successful

is more about lively success and immediate excited feeling after achievement
to flourish
vsto fly high
116 4.1

To grow strongly and be healthy or successful

is stronger on feeling very successful and excited from achievement
to prosper
vsto fly high
88 3.7

To become successful or grow well, often by making money

focuses more on sudden success and excited emotional response
to triumph
vsto fly high
60 3.4

To win or succeed and feel great joy

is broader, meaning strong success or excited happiness from achievement
to hit a home run
vsto fly high
  • Informal
17 3.4

To have a big success people do not expect

covers big success but also includes the excited feeling after achievement
to ride high
vsto fly high
  • Informal
11 5.9

To be very successful and confident for a time

stresses both success and excited feeling rather than steady confidence
to exult
vsto fly high
  • Formal
6 7.0

Feel or show great joy after a success

is broader, covering both success and excited happiness not only joy
to reach the summit
vsto fly high
6 3.1

Get to the top of a mountain or the highest point in your career

can mean high success while also implying strong happiness from it
to be on cloud nine
vsto fly high
  • Informal
5 4.6

To feel very happy and excited

ties that extreme happiness specifically to achievement and success
to walk on air
vsto fly high
1 3.8

To feel very happy and excited

adds the idea that the happiness comes from strong success

Antonyms

to fail
898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

to feel down
15 3.0

Be sad or unhappy

How Successful

to fly high
  • Informal
8 3.8
to flourish
116 4.1
to prosper
88 3.7
to succeed
846 2.0
to do well
520 1.2

Surface Forms

fly high infinitive
flying high present participle
flies high third person singular
flew high past
flown high past participle

Morphology

fly + high

The meaning 'to be very successful or feel elated' is a metaphorical extension of the literal image of 'fly' + 'high' (being elevated in height mapped to elevated status or mood), so a learner who knows both words could plausibly infer a related figurative sense. However, the success/emotional interpretation is not strictly compositional and relies on metaphorical mapping rather than a direct, predictable combination, making the expression only partially transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Fly high comes from the simple picture of a bird or a kite rising up into the sky; fly shows moving and high shows great height. That's why saying someone flies high means they are 'very successful' or 'feeling very happy and excited'.