soar
Americanverb (used without object)
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soars,
present (3rd person singular)
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soared,
past participle, past
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soaring
present participle
noun
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an act or instance of soaring.
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the height attained in soaring.
verb
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to rise or fly upwards into the air
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(of a bird, aircraft, etc) to glide while maintaining altitude by the use of ascending air currents
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to rise or increase in volume, size, etc
soaring prices
noun
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the act of soaring
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the altitude attained by soaring
Synonym Usage
See fly 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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soarsimple
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soarssimple
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have soaredperfect
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has soaredperfect
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am soaringprogressive
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are soaringprogressive
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is soaringprogressive
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have been soaringperfect progressive
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has been soaringperfect progressive
Past
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soaredsimple
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had soaredperfect
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was soaringprogressive
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were soaringprogressive
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had been soaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of soar
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English soren, from Middle French essorer, from unattested Vulgar Latin exaurāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex- 1 + aur(a) “air” + -āre infinitive suffix
Explanation
To soar means more than just to fly; it means to rise swiftly, to feel the wind slipping below you as you ride it higher, higher, higher. Flying is just moving through the air. Soaring, though, suggests exhilaration, even joy. Think about the anticipation you feel when you buy a lottery ticket — your hopes soar as you contemplate the possibilities. It's the same wonderful feeling you get when someone you have a crush on notices you, when you land that perfect job, when you hold your child. The word soar comes from the Latin, ex-, which means "out," and aura, meaning "breeze, air," together meaning "out of the air," which is precisely how it feels to soar.
Vocabulary lists containing soar
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Metaphors from Top AP English Exam Novels
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Higher Learning: Synonyms For "Up"
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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:
Reforms under Zhu sparked a boom in real estate and construction, which would soar to become a quarter of China's economy before a crippling debt crisis struck in 2020.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Deena wants to watch Maddie soar, to see her climb the echelons into food media superstardom.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Allbirds, a brand known for making sustainable shoes, saw its stocks soar after it shuttered its apparel stores and transformed into an artificial intelligence business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Amazon saw its shares soar 15.3% on Friday after it delivered its earning results after the U.S. stock market’s close Thursday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
I see nothing but blue as I soar upward into the embrace of sky.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Plus, Coach owner Tapestry tumbles and Workday soars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As Amazon soars, nowhere is Bezos’ astronomical wealth more tangibly displayed than in his $500 million real estate empire.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Off the entry and through an archway, the architectural heart of the century-old home soars upward: the living room’s open-beam, 25-foot ceiling with its original deep teal stain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Instead, the album really soars when it gets autobiographical.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The rope soars, arcs high, then, seemingly—slow, so slow—drifts down.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After his US-listed Nvidia shares soared by more than 1,000%, Chanyong Park, who works in marketing, says he put most of the profits into SK Hynix shares.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nebius soared afted the so-called neocloud reports better-than-expected second-quarter results, while fellow neocloud company CoreWeave posted a narrower quarterly loss, sending the stock up sharply.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Intel shares nonetheless have soared 164% so far in 2026 as investors bet on its turnaround efforts.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Even without El Niño, ocean temperatures have soared off parts of the coastline — a factor in the recent rounds of uncharacteristic muggy humidity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Salt water streamed off her body as she soared through the air.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
But in a summer of soaring temperatures, The Hundred's crowds have stagnated.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Corporate profits are soaring, but they aren’t all created equal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Blazes were also burning in other parts of the Balkans as a heatwave brought soaring temperatures and worsened drought conditions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Lenovo Group on Thursday became the latest company in the build-out of artificial intelligence to report soaring profits that caught investors by surprise.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
But by then I was soaring in the clouds, so I don’t know if she heard me.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
