head held high
9
4.6
- idiom
:
cabeza en alto
- Despite the challenges they faced, she left the meeting with her head held high, proud of her contributions.
- walks with her head held high
- keep my head held high
- leave with my head held high
You know, screaming like a crazy person, but still head held high.
- You know, screaming like a crazy person, but still head held high.
- The greatest thing you can do is walk out of one of these relationships with your head held high and with grace.
- Having your anger and letting it flow and then taking back your life with your grace and your head held high.
- I left with my head held high and I went and met everyone else in the pub as I do.
- All the brothers left me alone, my mum was proud of me and all of a sudden I could walk with my head held high in my chest out.
Examples
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Keep your head held high and know you aren't alone.
Blog text (20) -
The greatest thing you can do is walk out of one of these relationships with your head held high and with grace.
-
Carry on with your head held high.
Blog text (32) -
I left with my head held high and I went and met everyone else in the pub as I do.
-
Then, with her head held high, she walked straight across the room to the door.
Fiction book (2002) -
Win or lose ... we gonna walk out of this stadium tonight with our heads held high.
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And maybe we can all get through the weekend and the day and everything with our heads held high and our hearts intact.
-
Wanting to appear confident, she had taken to walking with her head held high and her eyes staring straight ahead.
Fiction book (2000) -
Head held high, he marched off home to see Bernice.
Fiction book (1993) -
I leave the store with my head held high, my shoulders back, a little snooty, though my heart beats furiously.
Fiction book (1990)
Antonyms
How Confident
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally describes the head being kept at a high position ('head' + 'held/high'), which is a clear physical image that signals pride or confidence. This bodily-posture metaphor is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Head held high comes from the clear image of someone literally keeping their head held high, so they look proud and steady even after something hard. So when we say someone has their 'head held high' we mean they are 'showing confidence and pride'.