Other forms: hightailed it; hightailing it; hightails it
When you hightail it, you leave as fast as you can. As soon as your family starts arguing about politics over the Thanksgiving dinner table, your policy is to hightail it out of there before you get pulled into the fray.
To hightail it is to exit quickly, run away, flee, or skedaddle. Scared of clowns? You'll probably want to hightail it away from the birthday party when you see them pull up and start to pile out of their little car. The phrase hightail it originated as Western United States cowboy slang, inspired by the sight of deer, cattle, or horses galloping swiftly away, tails held high in the air. Just like those animals, if you're hightailing it, you're making a rapid getaway.