Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hold one's head high

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.28 in modern English

Syllables: hold one's -head- high
IPA

31

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To act with pride; to be proud in a positive way.

Example Sentences

"Hold your head up high / Lay your dreams right up to the sky / Sing your greatest song / And you'll keep going, going on"
"And I spent oh so many nights just feeling sorry for myself / I used to cry, but now I hold my head up high"
"So a man's put to task and challenges / I was taught to hold my head high / Collect what is mine / Make the best of what today has."
"How on earth are we supposed to hold our heads high as the 'mother of parliaments' when we allow to continue the practice of almost openly buying a seat in parliament?"
"It was a clash for the ages as the battling All Blacks were full value for their effort. They can hold their heads high after it looked like South Africa was in control halfway through the match."

Inflected Forms

holds one's head high (present, singular) holding one's head high (participle, present) held one's head high (participle, past) held one's head high (past)

Phrases

with one's head held high

Questions

What does hold one's head high mean?: To act with pride; to be proud in a positive way.

How to pronounce hold one's head high

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hold one's head high”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hold one's head high”.
Repeat and practice — Say “hold one's head high” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.