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tall building — high-rise

collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon

A building that has many floors and is much higher than the buildings around it.

Say it like a native

Textbook The city contains numerous high-elevation architectural structures.

Native The city's full of tall buildings.

Natural; 'high-elevation architectural structures' is absurd.

Pattern: tall building (noun phrase)

In use

  • There’s a tall building next to the train station that you can see from miles away.daily life
  • In my city, there are many tall buildings, especially in the business district, which makes the skyline look very modern.IELTS speaking

Common mistake

✗ I live in a high building.

✓ I live in a tall building. / a high-rise.

Buildings are 'tall' (or 'high-rise'); 'high' fits mountains and shelves.

Common collocations

  • a tall building — very, climb, glass, skyscraper

Don't confuse it

‘Tall building’ is more general and common in everyday speech than ‘high-rise,’ which is a technical term.

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