sky
the region of the clouds or the upper air; the upper atmosphere of the earth: airplanes in the sky; cloudy skies.
the heavens or firmament, appearing as a great arch or vault.
the supernal or celestial heaven: They looked to the sky for help.
the climate: the sunny skies of Italy.
Obsolete. a cloud.
Informal. to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air.
Informal. to hang (a painting) high on a wall, above the line of vision.
sky up, Falconry. (of prey, when flushed) to fly straight upward.
Idioms about sky
out of a / the clear sky, without advance notice or warning; abruptly: An old beau phoned her out of a clear sky.: Also out of a / the clear blue sky .
to the skies, with lavishness or enthusiasm; extravagantly: to praise someone to the skies.: Also to the sky .
Origin of sky
1Other words from sky
- skyless, adjective
- skylike, adjective
Words Nearby sky
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sky in a sentence
Historical accounts of California summers describe months of smoky skies, but as a feature of the landscape, not a bug.
They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen? | by Elizabeth Weil | August 28, 2020 | ProPublicaWhen combined with additional data from other sky surveys, that alignment quantifies how much the matter in the universe is clumped together.
Scientists can’t agree on how clumpy the universe is | Emily Conover | August 10, 2020 | Science NewsWith India’s aviation industry flying through troubled skies, sectors that are dependent on airlines have now started to feel the heat.
In India’s aviation industry, airlines aren’t the only losers | Niharika Sharma | August 3, 2020 | QuartzIf you are working with smaller pieces, each contains less context for figuring out where it came from, especially in parts of the puzzle without any unique clues, like a blue sky.
For the First Time, Scientists Fully Sequenced the Human X Chromosome | Edd Gent | July 20, 2020 | Singularity HubFour years ago, three big tech companies had plans in the works to beam internet down to Earth from the sky, and each scenario sounded wilder than the next.
Google Loon Is Now Beaming WiFi Down to Earth From Giant Balloons | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | July 12, 2020 | Singularity Hub
They looked up into the blue sky as the helicopters flew over in a lost man formation.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos | Michael Daly | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhere these laser-like missiles are falling out of the sky onto a city and you have to stop each of them from hitting the targets?
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange | Marlow Stern | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“At least it keeps the mosquitoes away,” one of my table-mates said, as we watched the swooshes of smoke waft into the Havana sky.
Rob Marshall lets a sigh of relief erupt so loud it could be heard by giants in the sky.
The sky is not the limit; beliefs still must be sincere and connected to some for-real source.
It was the darkest hour of twilight, when there was just enough of gleam from the lurid sky, to shew the outline of objects.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterHe had seen through a powerful naval glass some figures standing erect and silhouetted against the sky on the parapet.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonIf it should ever be my lot to take the Long Trail at short notice, I hope it will be under a blue sky and a blazing sun.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairThe storm, however, was over; the moon and stars were shining in a clear sky, and the aurora was dancing merrily.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneWe stumbled along, close up, for the thick-piled clouds still hung their light-obscuring banners over the sky.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for sky
/ (skaɪ) /
(sometimes plural) the apparently dome-shaped expanse extending upwards from the horizon that is characteristically blue or grey during the day, red in the evening, and black at night: Related adjectives: celestial, empyrean
outer space, as seen from the earth
(often plural) weather, as described by the appearance of the upper air: sunny skies
the source of divine power; heaven
informal the highest level of attainment: the sky's the limit
to the skies highly; extravagantly
rowing to lift (the blade of an oar) too high before a stroke
(tr) informal to hit (a ball) high in the air
Origin of sky
1Derived forms of sky
- skylike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for sky
[ skī ]
The atmosphere, as seen from a given point on the Earth's surface. The sky appears to be blue because the wavelengths associated with blue light are scattered more easily than those that are associated with the other colors.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with sky
In addition to the idiom beginning with sky
, also see
- blow sky-high
- out of a clear blue sky
- pie in the sky
reach for the sky.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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