How to pronounce highbrow
American English pronunciation
HY-brow
- IPA
- /ˈhaɪˌbɹaʊ/
- Syllables
- HY · brow (2 syllables, stress on the 1st)
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What highbrow means
Very brainy or cultured, sometimes in a snobby way
In a sentence: My uncle only listens to highbrow music, but I would rather hear silly songs.
Where it comes from: It joins high and brow and was first used in 1875. It comes from an old idea, now known to be wrong, that clever people had higher foreheads.
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