high-flier

A young high-flier presents her ambitious business plan to a team.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An ambitious person: "high-flier" refers to someone who is very ambitious and aims for great success, often in a career or social context.
   • A visionary or impractical person: In some contexts, "high-flier" can describe someone whose ideas are overly idealistic or unrealistic, i.e., someone who is "visionary" in a negative sense.

Usage Examples

• Ambitious person:

  • She is a high-flier in the corporate world, always aiming for the top position. (She is very ambitious and strives for success.)
  • The company recruits only high-fliers for its management training program. (The company seeks very ambitious individuals.)

• Visionary or impractical person:

  • His plans for a utopian society made him seem like a high-flier, detached from reality. (His ideas were overly idealistic.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be a high-flier": to be exceptionally ambitious or successful.

  • After graduating from Harvard, he became a high-flier in finance. (He achieved great success quickly.)

• "high-flier in politics": a politician with grand ambitions.

  • The young senator is a high-flier, already eyeing the presidency. (He is very ambitious in his political career.)

Variants and Related Words

• High-flyer (n): an alternative spelling of "high-flier," with the same meanings.

  • The high-flyer was promoted within a year of joining the firm. (The ambitious employee advanced quickly.)

• High-flying (adj): describing someone or something that is very ambitious or successful.

  • Her high-flying career took her to several countries. (Her ambitious career led to international success.)

Synonyms

• Ambitious person: go-getter, achiever, striver, climber.
• Visionary: dreamer, idealist, utopian.

Phrasal Verbs

• No direct phrasal verbs are associated with "high-flier." However, related verbs include:
  • Aim high: to set ambitious goals.

    • She always aims high in her career. (She sets lofty goals.)
  • Fly high: to be very successful or ambitious.

    • He is flying high after his latest promotion. (He is experiencing great success.)

Related Idioms

• Reach for the stars: to have very high ambitions.

  • She is a high-flier who always reaches for the stars. (She pursues the highest goals.)

• Shoot for the moon: to aim for something very ambitious.

  • As a high-flier, he shoots for the moon in every project. (He sets extremely high targets.)