Meaning & use
high-visibility
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Made of bright material that can be seen easily, especially to keep people safe near traffic or machinery.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: a high-visibility vest. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- high-visibility clothing
- high-visibility vest
- high-visibility jacket
Workers on the road must wear high-visibility jackets at all times.
She bought a high-visibility vest for cycling home in the dark.
The school gave every child a high-visibility band for the winter walk.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurative
Getting a lot of public attention or being easy for people to notice.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe a role, campaign, or position that many people see or talk about.
Patterns
- high-visibility campaign
- high-visibility role
- high-visibility position
He took a high-visibility role in the charity's fundraising drive.
The mayor launched a high-visibility campaign against litter.
Being team captain is a high-visibility position, so she is careful about what she says.
Common combinations
- high-visibility vest
- All visitors to the building must put on a high-visibility vest.
- high-visibility clothing
- The company provides high-visibility clothing for night shifts.
- high-visibility jacket
- He left his high-visibility jacket in the van.
- wear high-visibility gear
- Cyclists should wear high-visibility gear on busy roads.
- high-visibility campaign
- The health service ran a high-visibility campaign about flu shots.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reflective
- Describes material that bounces light back; high-visibility often includes reflective strips but stresses bright, easily seen color.
- bright
- Simply means strong in color or light; high-visibility is more specific and suggests a safety purpose.
- prominent
- Fits the figurative sense of being noticed, but it does not describe safety clothing.
Opposites
Word family
- visibility noun
- The state of being easy or hard to see, especially in weather.
- visible adjective
- Able to be seen.
Commonly confused: high-visibility or hi-vis?
high-visibility vs hi-vis
Hi-vis is the informal short form of high-visibility and means the same thing: a hi-vis vest.
Practice
Which sentence uses high-visibility correctly?
Choose one answer.
High-visibility is an adjective used before a noun, so 'a high-visibility vest' is correct. The other options break word order or place the adjective after the verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “high-visibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.