A tall or high building?

[z7655431]

We saw many tall buildings.
(1)Can I use “high” to replace “tall”?

My teacher said YES, but, the Longman Dictionary says((2)Should I add an the before the Longman Dictionary?):
Do not use “high” to describe people, animals, trees, plants, and narrow things of above average height. Use “tall.”
e.g. You’re getting very tall. (NOT You’re getting very high.)
tall buildings (NOT high buildings)

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Tall is far more common than high with buildings, but high is not incorrect.

Is it the same for AmE?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'high-rise buildings' is OK.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, it is the same for AmE.

 

[GoesStation]

Only "tall" really works, unless you're describing buildings that are set on a hill.

 

[konungursvia]

I agree, a building would seldom be described as high; we only use this term, really, when things can move from high to low and back. A bird could be perched high in a tree, for instance. Or low.

 

[kilroy65]

This building is really tall! Its top is 130 metres high from the ground.

 

[GoesStation]

Google's Ngram Viewer shows that tall building currently occurs three and a half times more often than high building. This has not always been the case though; high building was preferred by a greater or lesser margin until around 1920, and tall building didn't gain an overwhelming lead until around 1975.

I'm surprised that high​ registers as well as it does. Describing a 20-story building as high sounds really unnatural to me, an AmE speaker from the US Midwest.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's not surprising that 'high' occurs frequently.

We refer to the height of the Empire State Building, not its tallness.

 

[Tarheel]

The tallest skyscrapers are referred to as "supertalls". (I wonder if the upper limits have been reached. Maybe not.)

 

[GoesStation]

It's not surprising that 'high' occurs frequently.

We refer to the height of the Empire State Building, not its tallness.

True. I didn't search for phrases using "height" near "building", but "height" would be the only natural choice in that context. ​

 

[Tdol]

The tallest skyscrapers are referred to as "supertalls".

I have not heard that used in BrE.

 

[Tarheel]

"Man-Made Wonders". Chapter 13. Amazing stuff.