sky

[skahy]

noun

plural

skies 

1. the region of the clouds or the upper air; the upper atmosphere of the earth.

   airplanes in the sky; cloudy skies.

2. the heavens or firmament, appearing as a great arch or vault.

3. the supernal or celestial heaven.

   They looked to the sky for help.

4. the climate.

   the sunny skies of Italy.

5. Obsolete.,  a cloud.

verb (used with object)

skied, skyed, skying. 

1. Informal.,  to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air.

2. Informal.,  to hang (a painting) high on a wall, above the line of vision.

verb phrase

1. sky up,  (of prey, when flushed) to fly straight upward.

sky

/ skaɪ /

noun

1. (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

2. outer space, as seen from the earth

3. (often plural) weather, as described by the appearance of the upper air

   sunny skies

4. the source of divine power; heaven

5. informal,  the highest level of attainment

   the sky's the limit

6. highly; extravagantly

verb

1. rowing to lift (the blade of an oar) too high before a stroke

2. informal,  (tr) to hit (a ball) high in the air

sky

1. The atmosphere, as seen from a given point on the Earth's surface. The sky appears to be blue because the wavelengths associated with blue light are scattered more easily than those that are associated with the other colors.

Other Word Forms

• skylike adjective
• skyless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sky¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old Norse skȳ “cloud,” cognate with Old English scēo “cloud”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sky¹

C13: from Old Norse skӯ; related to Old English scio cloud, Old Saxon skio, Old Norse skjār transparent skin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. to the skies, with lavishness or enthusiasm; extravagantly: Also to the sky

   to praise someone to the skies.

2. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing sky

• blow sky-high
• out of a clear blue sky
• pie in the sky
• reach for the sky

Example Sentences

Once holidaymakers took off from here, but today an ex-Soviet airfield is a testing ground for ways to take down the drones increasingly buzzing through German skies.

Read more on Barron's

India isn't alone in losing sunshine; across the world, rising air pollution and shifting weather patterns have dimmed the skies.

Read more on BBC

Defending Europe against drones involves several steps: detecting and identifying the unmanned vehicles, deciding whether to neutralize them, and exerting pressure away from the skies to deter enemies from launching them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

People waved at the sky and cheered when they were flown overhead in military helicopters on their way to hospitals.

Read more on BBC

The duo stared up in the sky as dozens of lilac balloons burst into the sky.

Read more on Los Angeles Times