Effective communication regarding distance in the vertical dimension is critical for many ecological, climatological and broader geophysical studies of the Earth. Confusion exists regarding the definition of three English words commonly used to describe the vertical dimension: (1) elevation; (2) altitude; and (3) height. While used interchangeably in "everyday" non-technical English, here we provide explicit definitions and strongly recommend their use in scientific literature. We briefly discuss the likely origins of the sub-optimal use of these three words due to translations between languages. Finally, we provide examples of how using these terms, as explicitly defined herein, improves scientific communication.