skyscraper

American  

[skahy-skrey-per] / ˈskaɪˌskreɪ pər /

noun

• skyscrapers
  plural

1. a relatively tall building of many stories, especially one for office or commercial use.

2. Architecture. a building of exceptional height completely supported by a framework, as of girders, from which the walls are suspended, as opposed to a building supported by load-bearing walls.

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skyscraper British  

/ ˈskaɪˌskreɪpə /

noun

1. a very tall multistorey building

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• skyscrapers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of skyscraper

First recorded in 1785–95; sky + scraper

Explanation

A skyscraper is a very tall building, like New York City's Empire State Building, which held the title of "World's Tallest Building" for many years. You're most likely to see a skyscraper in a large city like New York or Hong Kong. You can spot the tourists in these cities because they are often gazing up at the tops of the skyscrapers. The designation of a building as a skyscraper was originally an Americanism, but the earliest recorded use of skyscraper was for a triangular sail set topmost on a square-rigged ship, and at other times in the past the word was used to designate a very tall man and a high-flying bird, among other things.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

skyscraper skyscrapers

The designers and developers of today’s One World Trade Center considered re-creating Windows on the World, but the proposed new skyscraper proved too narrow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Beneath the shadows of indigo-streaked clouds, a young woman strolls through a fog-covered city, stopping at the base of a skyscraper.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Steel beams holding up the skyscraper are exposed in various corners of residential units - an homage to what made the original building so innovative.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Her Private Hell” is an expressionistic sci-fi fantasy set in a skyscraper hotel that stretches into the clouds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

It was a half-moon of steel encased in a skyscraper of wooden falsework.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

He says he felt like an ant walking into the huge facility on his first day in prison; the guard towers reminded him of skyscrapers.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

It adds that 9/11 has left a "deadly legacy", reporting that thousands of people who breathed in the toxic dust that followed the fall of the two skyscrapers have since died from cancer.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

The 10-acre site will also be transformed by new offices and retail space, primarily serving the neighbouring financial district filled with skyscrapers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

She enjoyed the food in China, especially Peking roast duck, and the diversity of scenery, from the skyscrapers of Shanghai to the natural landscape of Yangshuo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

The air was warm and soft here, already feeling like midsummer, the skyscrapers replaced by sunset-tinted trees.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• high-rise