The word 抬高 is a compound verb formed through a common Chinese morphological process called a verb-complement (or verb-resultative) construction. It combines the verb 抬 (tái, meaning "to lift" or "raise") with the adjective 高 (gāo, meaning "high" or "tall"). Literally, it describes the action of lifting something to a higher position. However, its meaning has extended metaphorically, and it is most frequently used in abstract contexts to mean "to raise or inflate (e.g., a price, one's status, or reputation)" or "to boost (someone's ego)", where the "lifting" is figurative and the result is an increased, and often artificially heightened, level.