Meanings
present singular third person leaves someone high and dry · participle present leaving someone high and dry · participle past left someone high and dry · past left someone high and dry
- idiomaticTo abandon somebody; to stop providing assistance at a crucial moment.
He just walked out and left her high and dry with two kids and a mortgage.
1 more example
When the Met first reached Chesham, in 1889, the townsfolk thought the growth of their town would be inexorable as a result. [...] The cry went up 'At last, we are on the main line!' And so they were - for three years, until the Met decided to carry on to Amersham, leaving Chesham high and dry on a branch.
2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, pages 76, 77
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
German hängenlassen
- hängenlassenTranslations
Greek αφήνω αμανάτι
- αφήνω αμανάτι (afíno amanáti)Translations
Polish zostawiać na lodzie, zostawić na lodzie
- zostawiać na lodzieTranslations
- zostawić na lodzieTranslations
Spanish dejar tirado
- dejar tiradoTranslations
Turkish dımdızlak ortalıkta bırakmak
- dımdızlak ortalıkta bırakmakTranslations
Cite this entry
leave someone high and dry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leave%20someone%20high%20and%20dry
“leave someone high and dry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leave%20someone%20high%20and%20dry. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leave someone high and dry,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leave%20someone%20high%20and%20dry.
Source: leave someone high and dry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.