skyrocket
Americannoun
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skyrockets
plural
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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.
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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.
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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)
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skyrockets,
present (3rd person singular)
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skyrocketed,
past participle, past
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skyrocketing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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skyrockets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
skyrocketed,
past participle, past
-
skyrocketing
present participle
-
to cause to rise or increase rapidly and usually suddenly.
Economic changes have skyrocketed prices.
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to thrust with sudden dramatic advancement; catapult.
Talent has skyrocketed him to fame.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
skyrocketsimple
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skyrocketssimple
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have skyrocketedperfect
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has skyrocketedperfect
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am skyrocketingprogressive
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are skyrocketingprogressive
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is skyrocketingprogressive
-
have been skyrocketingperfect progressive
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has been skyrocketingperfect progressive
Past
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skyrocketedsimple
-
had skyrocketedperfect
-
was skyrocketingprogressive
-
were skyrocketingprogressive
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had been skyrocketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of skyrocket
Explanation
When something skyrockets, it shoots up. Immediately after the Winter Olympics, interest in ice skating, bobsledding, and curling tends to skyrocket, or increase suddenly and dramatically. The verb skyrocket is good to use when something grows or shoots up as abruptly as a firework. Gas prices, food prices, debt, and winter cases of the flu are all said, from time to time, to skyrocket. A more literal meaning of skyrocket is the actual rocket that's designed to send a flare or firework high into the sky. A bottle rocket — a firework that is placed in an empty bottle before being lit and shooting into the air — is one example of a small skyrocket.
Vocabulary lists containing skyrocket
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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.
See Examples For:
As earnings skyrocket for chipmakers including Samsung, many workers are demanding a bigger cut of the profits.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The G7 has agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel in a bid to ease supply pressures that have caused prices to skyrocket.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
As internet cafes proliferated, Romania also saw its rates of cybercrime skyrocket to one of the highest in the world, according to the State Department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
It started on a platform called Popshoplive to sell Hello Kitty and other items, but sales didn’t skyrocket until it switched to TikTok Shop in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
On the top step he let out a shriek that one witness likened to the scream of a skyrocket.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
They tend to operate during the coldest or hottest hours, when demand for electricity skyrockets and the power grid is stressed, said Form’s chief executive and co-founder, Mateo Jaramillo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Samsung, which makes memory chips essential for AI data centres, has also seen its value and profits soar as global demand skyrockets.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Swinney accused UK ministers of "twiddling their thumbs" while the cost of living for rural households skyrockets.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
In other words, homeowners are incentivized to not sell their home and give up their tax rate, which remains low even as their home value skyrockets.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
The same is true of Fourth of July equipment, flags and bunting and skyrockets.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
An openly gay artist, Guitarrica skyrocketed to fame when his mournful, late-night lament “El Conticinio” found viral success after he uploaded it to Soundcloud in 2018.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
In the fields, the cost of diesel needed to run combines as farmers start harvesting soybeans, corn and other crops this month has skyrocketed more than 67 percent since February.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Over the past year, the popularity of prediction markets has skyrocketed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Robinhood skyrocketed to national prominence during the 2021 meme-stock frenzy, when its easy-to-use app helped usher in a wave of trading during the pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
But when the Central Valley started to dry up and the price of produce skyrocketed, people started to pay attention.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
That conflict has sent the cost of petrol - and in particular diesel - skyrocketing, souring his standing with the American public.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
This confluence of factors coupled with rising wait times and skyrocketing costs of compute are crippling a generation of newcomers trying to compete with Google, Anthropic and OpenAI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Toxic smoke from peatland as well as forest fires has shrouded towns and cities in the region for more than a month, sending respiratory complaints skyrocketing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Amid skyrocketing demand for computing power and data-center capacity, the U.S. is facing a severe and growing power shortfall.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
My stomach a hard ball, my pulse skyrocketing again, I left his office without shaking his outstretched hand.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
