ClimateAugust 15, 2026

highline

HY-line

Definition

A sport or activity involving walking across a narrow, flat strap rigged at a significant height between two points, such as buildings or natural features.

Etymology

The word is a compound of 'high' and 'line,' emerging in the late 20th century to describe the evolution of slacklining when practiced at extreme heights, often requiring specialized safety tethers.

In the news

The word refers to the 57-metre-long slackline rigged by Archie Williams and Hugo Thomas above a melting Icelandic glacier to create a visual performance art piece regarding climate change.

On thin ice: from Luxembourg to a glacier in Iceland for climate awareness

Read the full article ↗

Luxembourg Times

Related words

Learn words like this every day

Meet new words every morning.

Newspoken pulls carefully chosen words from the day’s news — with clear definitions, context, and light review that makes them stick. Get it on your phone.