to hold one's head high
4
4.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
mantener la cabeza en alto
- No matter what you do in your life, hold your head high.
- walked and held his head high
- held her head high and said
Examples
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This is a day to put differences aside, to hold one's head high and take pride in being British.
-
You need to find that quality in Mitt that will make you hold your head high and vote for him.
Blog text (3) -
Stay strong and hold your head high.
Blog text (31) -
On Saturday, hold your head high, breathe, and tell your story.
Blog text (24) -
"I know it's hard, Jenny," Mama had said, "but you just hold your head high."
Fiction book (1997) -
Just hold your head high, don't apologize for what you believe, and build what you can in your own backyard.
Blog text (27) -
As she walked, she held her head high, unashamed and unafraid.
Fiction book (1991) -
Rose held her head high, like a dancer, and her dark hair rolled back in a bun accentuated her long neck.
Fiction book (1993) -
I really couldn't ask for much more besides a championship in our rookie year," said Dillon, who held his head high after the race, answering every question.
Blog text (18) -
After facing criticism from her peers, she still managed to hold her head high and stay confident.
Synonyms
8
6.5
To stay cheerful and hopeful when things go wrong
Antonyms
How Confident
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'behave in a proud and confident way' is directly derivable from the literal image of holding one's head in a high position—'hold' + 'head' + 'high' signal an upright posture associated with pride. This compositional, cross-linguistically common metaphor (e.g. Spanish 'mantener la cabeza alta') makes the expression transparent to B1 learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase hold one's head high comes from the simple image of keeping your head up and held high instead of looking down when you feel ashamed. So, it means 'to behave in a proud and confident way' even after a hard time or criticism.