sky
Americannoun
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the region of the clouds or the upper air; the upper atmosphere of the earth.
airplanes in the sky; cloudy skies.
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the heavens or firmament, appearing as a great arch or vault.
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the supernal or celestial heaven.
They looked to the sky for help.
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the climate.
the sunny skies of Italy.
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Obsolete. a cloud.
verb (used with object)
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Informal. to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air.
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Informal. to hang (a painting) high on a wall, above the line of vision.
verb phrase
idioms
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to the skies, with lavishness or enthusiasm; extravagantly: Also to the sky
to praise someone to the skies.
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out of a / the clear sky, without advance notice or warning; abruptly: Also out of athe clear blue sky
An old beau phoned her out of a clear sky.
noun
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(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
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outer space, as seen from the earth
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(often plural) weather, as described by the appearance of the upper air
sunny skies
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the source of divine power; heaven
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informal the highest level of attainment
the sky's the limit
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highly; extravagantly
verb
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rowing to lift (the blade of an oar) too high before a stroke
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informal (tr) to hit (a ball) high in the air
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have skyedperfect
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have skiedperfect
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has skiedperfect 3rd person singular
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has skyedperfect 3rd person singular
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is skyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are skyingprogressive
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has been skyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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skyingparticiple
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am skyingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been skyingperfect progressive
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skiessingular 3rd person
Past
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had skiedperfect
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had skyedperfect
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had been skyingperfect progressive
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was skyingprogressive singular
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skyedsimple
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skiedsimple
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skiedparticiple
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were skyingprogressive plural
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skyedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of sky
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old Norse skȳ “cloud,” cognate with Old English scēo “cloud”
Explanation
Want to see the sky? Go outside and look up! That’s assuming you’re not on Mars, of course. Everything you see above the surface of the Earth is the sky. Astronomers use the term "celestial sphere" for the sky. It's the space that includes everything we can see from our earthbound perspective, including clouds, stars, the sun, and the moon. If your uncle takes you out for ice cream and says, "The sky's the limit!" he means that there is no limit at all—you can order anything, even an enormous banana split.
Vocabulary lists containing sky
Blue
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Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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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.
SKY saw about 232,000 disconnections with a 13.8% dip in revenue.
From Reuters • Oct. 26, 2023
Instead, it's Suryakumar Yadav - the man they call SKY.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2022
The USC Fisher Museum of Art recently opened his show “SEA SKY LAND: towards a map of everything,” a thematic assembly of some 30 paintings and sculptures made since 2005.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2022
The former SKY TV chief had been in the job less than a year.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 16, 2021
SKY: From the horizon upwards , lies my dominion .
From NATURAE by Dom
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.
