hit the high notes

verb

To produce or attain, at least for a period of time, an especially satisfactory degree of achievement or fulfilment.

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Meanings

verbhit the high notes (third-person singular simple present hits the high notes, present participle hitting the high notes, simple past and past participle hit the high notes)

present singular third person hits the high notes · participle present hitting the high notes

  1. idiomaticTo produce or attain, at least for a period of time, an especially satisfactory degree of achievement or fulfilment.

    During his public life, Obama has hit the high notes of poetic romance — his 2008 campaign.

    2014 September 25, David Brooks, “Routine, Creativity and President Obama’s U.N. Speech”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 Nov 2017
    2 more examples

    The flavors of the food hit the high notes: the rightly famous Canlis salad, the signature Peter Canlis sweet prawns floating on a sea of butter, and a succulent Kobe-style steak.

    2008 April 24, Leslie Kelly, “Sound and bites pair well at these places”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 16 Nov 2017

    If all that extra money isn't being used to shore up vital day-to-day Facebook operations, that's probably good news—but whatever the case, the site hasn't hit the high notes quite yet.

    2009 September 16, Bobbie Johnson, “How exactly is Facebook making money?”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 16 Nov 2017
Cite this entry
APA

hit the high notes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20high%20notes

MLA

“hit the high notes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20high%20notes. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hit the high notes,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20high%20notes.

Source: hit the high notes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.