high jinks
plural noun
variants
or less commonly hijinks
: boisterous or rambunctious carryings-on : carefree antics or horseplay
Synonyms
Examples of high jinks in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Perhaps the high jinks were intended to distract patients from worry.
—
Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
Brandy Norwood and Heather Graham are getting into some holiday high jinks together.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 24 Oct. 2023
The music, by turns meditative and frisky, reminds us that for all the madcap high jinks, something vital is at stake.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023
Directed by Rob Letterman (of Shark Tale and Detective Pikachu fame), Goosebumps ’15 offers classic children’s high jinks.
—Vulture, 17 Oct. 2023
As his career has advanced, his ambitions have morphed and escalated, and the past few years have brought increasingly elaborate media high jinks and crafty public-relations stunts in addition to music.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2023
His isn’t the goofball humor and high jinks that are as old as baseball.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Oct. 2023
The senator denied any wrongdoing and accused the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Chris Christie, of political high jinks to help his Republican opponent.
—Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
Though the destination lacks suspense, the ride is entertaining enough, particularly for those who haven’t closely followed Musk’s high jinks.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2023
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Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
Brandy Norwood and Heather Graham are getting into some holiday high jinks together.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 24 Oct. 2023
The music, by turns meditative and frisky, reminds us that for all the madcap high jinks, something vital is at stake.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023
Directed by Rob Letterman (of Shark Tale and Detective Pikachu fame), Goosebumps ’15 offers classic children’s high jinks.
—Vulture, 17 Oct. 2023
As his career has advanced, his ambitions have morphed and escalated, and the past few years have brought increasingly elaborate media high jinks and crafty public-relations stunts in addition to music.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2023
His isn’t the goofball humor and high jinks that are as old as baseball.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Oct. 2023
The senator denied any wrongdoing and accused the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Chris Christie, of political high jinks to help his Republican opponent.
—Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
Though the destination lacks suspense, the ride is entertaining enough, particularly for those who haven’t closely followed Musk’s high jinks.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'high jinks.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1825, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to high jinks
Dictionary Entries Near high jinks
Cite this Entry
“High jinks.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high%20jinks. Accessed 9 Jan. 2024.
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Kids Definition
high jinks
noun pluralˈhī-ˈjiŋks
: wild or rowdy behavior
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