high-tech

[ hahy-tek ]

noun

1. high technology.
2. a style of interior design using industrial, commercial, and institutional fixtures, equipment, and materials, as metal warehouse shelving, factory lamps, and exposed pipes, or incorporating other elements having the stark, utilitarian appearance characteristic of industrial design.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or suggesting high technology.

high tech

noun

1. a variant spelling of hi tech

high-tech

¹

1. A descriptive term for industry heavily dependent on recent laboratory discoveries. Manufacturing computers is a typical high-tech industry.

high-tech

²

1. Short for “high technology”; the term describes industries and firms that use or produce advanced technology, especially in electronics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of high-tech¹

First recorded in 1970–75; by shortening

Example Sentences

Koebler explained that the movement kickstarted more than 15 years ago when a growing number of farmers struggled to repair their John Deere tractors, which had become more high-tech with new sensors and software.

From Salon

Intermediate court rulings in these cases contradict each other and raise issues that haven’t been seen before even in high-tech intellectual property law.

From Los Angeles Times

Neal’s Yard Dairy says it plans to use a less high-tech approach to preventing future fraud, including visiting buyers in person when big cheese orders are made, rather than relying on digital contracts and emails.

From BBC

But China, which has long been the world’s factory for low-cost goods, is trying to replicate that success with high-tech exports.

From BBC

China has been counting on high-tech products to help revive its flagging economy, and the EU is the largest overseas market for the country's electric car industry.

From BBC

Related Words

• automation
• machinery