high ground
Advantageous elevated terrain
High ground is elevated terrain that provides tactical advantage—defenders can see farther and attackers must fight uphill.
The phrase extends to any position of superiority or advantage: We need to secure the high ground before negotiations begin.
To take the moral high ground is to claim ethical superiority in a dispute, sometimes genuinely, sometimes self-righteously.
Apex of a knoll
- ridgeNarrow raised strip
- plateauFlat highland area
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
- mesaFlat-topped steep-sided elevation
butte · escarpment · bluff · knoll · promontory · outcrop · overlook · heights
Favorable position or circumstance
- vantagePosition of advantage
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- controlAuthority to direct
superiority · overwatch · commanding · positioning · fortification · defensive · flanking · artillery
Study of right conduct
- principlesFoundational moral beliefs
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
honor · dignity · standards · conscience · scruples · idealism · nobility · uprightness
hilltop
Apex of a knoll
mesa · butte · escarpment · bluff · knoll · promontory · outcrop · overlook · heights · upland
advantage
Favorable position or circumstance
- vantagePosition of advantage
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
control · superiority · overwatch · commanding · positioning · fortification · defensive · flanking · artillery · stronghold
ethics
Study of right conduct
- principlesFoundational moral beliefs
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
virtue · honor · dignity · standards · conscience · scruples · idealism · nobility · uprightness · rectitude
- tactical positionsdefensive position, forward position, sniper position, prone position, fallback position
- territorial advantagehome field, home turf, stronghold, foothold, beachhead
- game mechanicslevels, rules, cooldown, points, health points
- advantagesedge, leverage, upper hand, leg up, head start
- vantage pointslookout, overlook, lookout tower, vantage, observation deck
- ground(s) wordsgarden, yard, lawn, courtyard, campus
high groundvalley
Low ground between heights
lowland · depression · hollow · basin · bottomland
high groundlow road
Underhanded course of action
gutter · bad faith · dirty tactics · moral bankruptcy · disgrace
high, ground, height, higher, highest, altitude, elevation, heighten, heightened