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Glite Dictionary
to aim high

to aim high

5 3.9
Try to reach very difficult goals
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : apuntar alto
  • If you want to succeed, you should always aim high and set challenging goals for yourself.

But but what I mean is also in life, I think you always don't be afraid to aim high.

Examples

  • Encourage them to aim high, and even attempts that fall short will be amazing.

    Academic text (2014)

  • I want my kids to aim high.

    Blog text (21)

  • Here we aim high and every day is always full.

  • You aim high, my lady, you aim high.

    The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)

  • I want you to aim high.

    White Men Can't Jump (1992)

  • When you aim, you really aim high.

    Flamingo Road (1949)

  • "Aim high," her father has always told her.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • It's a fairly recent trend, and I think in the coming years it will continue to grow, especially if women aim high in their career choices.

    Blog text (2)

  • So aim high, but reward yourself for small incremental improvements, especially ones that repeat everyday.

  • She envisioned herself making a difference in students' lives, inspiring them to aim high.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

to aspire
vsto aim high
106 4.1

To want very much to achieve an important goal

focuses on active goal setting and striving rather than inner desire
to shoot for
vsto aim high
  • Informal
30 3.9

To try to reach a big, difficult goal

is about setting ambitious, significant goals rather than occasional difficult aims
to dream big
vsto aim high
  • Informal
15 3.4

To have very big goals for the future

emphasizes actively pursuing important achievements rather than just imagining them
to reach for the stars
vsto aim high
  • Informal
4 4.9

To try to achieve very big goals

focuses on setting ambitious, significant goals rather than extreme fantasies
to reach for the sky
vsto aim high
  • Informal
3 7.1

To try to do very big or difficult things to get what you want

is about striving for notable achievement rather than just ordinary goals
to shoot for the stars
vsto aim high
  • Informal
2 4.7

Try to reach a very high and difficult goal

is about setting ambitious goals without stressing daring attitude
to set the bar high
vsto aim high
  • Informal
1 3.9

Make a high goal for others to reach

is personal goal setting aimed at individual achievement, not others' standards

Antonyms

to settle for less
9 4.5

To accept something worse than what you want or deserve

How Ambitious

to reach for the stars
  • Informal
4 4.9
to dream big
  • Informal
15 3.4
to aim high
5 3.9
to aim for
79 2.8
to settle for
143 3.6

Surface Forms

aim high infinitive
aimed high past
aimed high past participle
aiming high present participle
aims high third person singular

Morphology

aim + high

The meaning 'to set ambitious goals' is directly and predictably built from 'aim' (goal/intend) combined with 'high' (to a great degree), so the overall sense is a straightforward intensification of aiming. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'apuntar alto', French 'viser haut'), so an average B1 learner who knows both words would very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Aim high comes from the simple image of taking aim and pointing it at something high, like aiming an arrow at the top of a distant hill. So, it means 'set big goals' or 'try for something important'.