Meaning & use
highlands
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Meanings
nounusually plural
An area of land that is high above sea level, often hilly or mountainous.
Grammar: Usually plural: the highlands are cold in winter. Singular highland is more often an adjective.
Patterns
- in the highlands
- the highlands of somewhere
The highlands of Kenya are cooler than the coast.
Coffee grows well in the highlands of Guatemala.
Snow covers the highlands from December to March.
proper nounproperScottish
The Highlands: the mountainous northern and western part of Scotland.
Grammar: Written with a capital H and the: the Highlands.
Patterns
- the Scottish Highlands
We spent a week hiking in the Scottish Highlands.
The Highlands are known for lochs, glens and castles.
Her family comes from a small village in the Highlands.
Common combinations
- in the highlands
- Villages in the highlands are often cut off by snow.
- Scottish Highlands
- The Scottish Highlands attract many walkers.
- central highlands
- The central highlands receive heavy rain.
- highlands and lowlands
- The country has both highlands and lowlands.
- remote highlands
- The remote highlands have few roads.
Synonyms and how they differ
- uplands
- Uplands is slightly more technical and describes higher ground that is not necessarily mountainous.
- mountains
- Mountains means individual high peaks, whereas highlands describes a whole elevated region.
- hill country
- Hill country is an everyday phrase for rolling high ground, usually gentler than highlands.
- tableland
- Tableland is a high flat area, a more specific type of highland.
Opposites
Word family
- highland adjective
- relating to high country
- highlander noun
- a person from the highlands
- lowlands noun
- low flat land
- uplands noun
- high ground
Commonly confused: highlands or highlights?
highlands vs highlights
Highlights are the best parts of an event or a lighter strand in hair; the word has nothing to do with high land.
Practice
Which place name would you expect to be described as part of the Highlands?
Choose one answer.
The Highlands is the mountainous part of Scotland. The other options describe flat or low places, the opposite of highlands.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “highlands”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.