skyrocket

[skahy-rok-it]

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.

skyrocket

/ ˈskaɪˌrɒkɪt /

noun

1. another word for rocket 1

verb

1. informal,  (intr) to rise rapidly, as in price

Word History and Origins

Origin of skyrocket¹

First recorded in 1680–90; sky + rocket ¹

Example Sentences

The federal government has continuously increased subsidies to insurance companies to hide ObamaCare’s affordability failures and spare Americans on ObamaCare from its skyrocketing costs—while everyone’s premiums, copayments and deductibles have soared.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Basketball's popularity in the east Asian nation skyrocketed when Chinese player Yao Ming was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2002.

Read more on BBC

Experts say this will cause premiums to skyrocket and force many to go without health care.

Read more on Salon

As the price of rights to coveted sporting events skyrockets, the broadcasters have America’s most-loved tournament locked up for seven more years in exchange for relatively fixed annual payments.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

As the profusion of large language models and other tools has picked up, demand for inference computing has skyrocketed, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said in a joint interview with Su.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• catapult 
• escalate 
• rise 
• rocket 
• shoot up 
• zoom