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skyrocket

[skahy-rok-it]
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noun
  1. a rocket firework that ascends into the air and explodes at a height, usually in a brilliant array of sparks of one or more colors.
  2. Also called scarlet gilia. a plant, Ipomopsis aggregata, of the phlox family, native to western North America, having finely divided leaves and clusters of red, trumpet-shaped flowers.
  3. an organized group cheer, usually led by a cheerleader, as at a football or basketball game, which begins with a hissing or whistling and ends with a shout.
verb (used without object)
  1. to rise or increase rapidly or suddenly, especially to unexpected or unprecedented levels: Prices skyrocketed during the war.
verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to rise or increase rapidly and usually suddenly: Economic changes have skyrocketed prices.
  2. to thrust with sudden dramatic advancement; catapult: Talent has skyrocketed him to fame.

Origin of skyrocket

First recorded in 1680–90; sky + rocket1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for skyrocket

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Didn't tell you, did I, about Mallory's doin' the skyrocket act?

    Torchy

    Sewell Ford

  • So I climbs aboard, Babe opens the cut-out, and we make a skyrocket start.

    Torchy and Vee

    Sewell Ford

  • In addition to the children there was Skyrocket, the dog, and Turnover, the cat.

  • Now there was no sight of Snuff and Turnover, nor of Skyrocket, the other dog.

  • Course he can't do tricks like Skyrocket and Top, but he's nice to look at.

British Dictionary definitions for skyrocket

skyrocket

noun
  1. another word for rocket 1 (def. 1)
verb
  1. (intr) informal to rise rapidly, as in price
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

Word Origin and History for skyrocket

n.

1680s, type of firework, from sky (n.) + rocket (n.2). The verb, in the figurative sense of "to rise abruptly and rapidly" (often with suggestion of 'and then explode and vanish'") is attested from 1895.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper