skyscraper
Americannoun
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a relatively tall building of many stories, especially one for office or commercial use.
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Architecture. a building of exceptional height completely supported by a framework, as of girders, from which the walls are suspended, as opposed to a building supported by load-bearing walls.
noun
Etymology
Origin of skyscraper
Explanation
A skyscraper is a very tall building, like New York City's Empire State Building, which held the title of "World's Tallest Building" for many years. You're most likely to see a skyscraper in a large city like New York or Hong Kong. You can spot the tourists in these cities because they are often gazing up at the tops of the skyscrapers. The designation of a building as a skyscraper was originally an Americanism, but the earliest recorded use of skyscraper was for a triangular sail set topmost on a square-rigged ship, and at other times in the past the word was used to designate a very tall man and a high-flying bird, among other things.
Vocabulary lists containing skyscraper
September Words
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Towers Falling
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 30–November 5, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Saudi Arabia is focusing on Vision 2030's more pragmatic ventures as extravagances like NEOM, a futuristic city in the desert, and Riyadh's cuboid skyscraper Mukaab, are scaled back or scrapped to save costs.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
“Imagine if the terminal was part of a skyscraper that had apartments on the lower floors and the convenience that would provide,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Russian media reported that Ivan Urgant, a popular Russian talk-show host, is one of the celebrities who own apartments in the gated-off skyscraper that rises 700 feet.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Rock climber Alex Honnold, a California native, has ascended the Taipei 101 skyscraper without any ropes or protective equipment.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
You’d see a classmate who normally dressed in ratty jeans and an untucked shirt crossing campus in a pin-striped suit and understand that he or she was destined for a Manhattan skyscraper.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
