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Glite Dictionary
🚀 A top achiever 📈 A fast-rising stock 🦅 A soaring animal
high-flier

high-flier

1 5.1
A person who is very successful and likely to go far at work or school
  • noun
  • /haɪˈflaɪər/
translation icon : triunfador
  • And he'd look at the other high Flyers, rich people who'd had had a lot of money and was successful and people knew their names and stuff.

And he'd look at the other high Flyers, rich people who'd had had a lot of money and was successful and people knew their names and stuff.

Examples

  • Many successful companies actively seek out high-fliers to lead their teams to new heights.

  • Companies that hire "high fliers" want those candidates who are highly successful and who prefer to work in a competitive environment where they can prove that they are the best of the best.

    Blog text (26)

  • After graduating at the top of her class, she quickly became known as a high-flier in the tech industry.

  • His impressive track record in sales marked him as a high-flyer among his peers.

Synonyms

baller
vshigh-flier
  • Slang
16 8.9

A person who is very successful and lives a flashy, expensive life

is more neutral, about career or academic success and future promise
up-and-comer
vshigh-flier
11 6.0

A person who is becoming successful and well known

is broader, covering both established success and long term potential not only rising
highflyer
vshigh-flier
1 6.3

A person who is very successful and wants to achieve a lot

is broader, used for general success or study potential rather than ambition
high-potential
vshigh-flier
  • Jargon
1 5.1

An employee the company thinks is likely to become a leader

is less formal, describing general success or study promise without organizational label

Antonyms

underachiever
11 4.6

A person, often a student, who gets lower grades than they could

How Successful

star
∞ 1.1
high-flier
1 5.1
average
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

high-flier singular
high-fliers plural

Morphology

high-flier = high + flier (transparent) = high + flier

A clear compound of 'high' + 'flier' where the metaphor 'flies high' straightforwardly yields 'someone who achieves high status', which learners can readily infer.

Etymology

The word high-flier comes from the two simple parts high ('up' or 'great') and flier ('one who flies' or 'rises'). So a high-flier is someone who quickly rises above others in their career or studies.