skyline
Americannoun
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the boundary line between earth and sky; the apparent horizon.
A sail appeared against the skyline.
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the outline of something, as the buildings of a city, against the sky.
the New York skyline.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the line at which the earth and sky appear to meet; horizon
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the outline of buildings, mountains, trees, etc, seen against the sky
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of skyline
Explanation
In a city, the row of buildings you can see right at the horizon is called a skyline. The best views of the Manhattan skyline are from New Jersey and Brooklyn. When you're near a city but not in the center of it, you can really appreciate its skyline. Officially, you don't need a full-fledged city to have a skyline, just an outline of land or buildings along the horizon. Still, when you think of skylines, you probably think of New York or Los Angeles or Shanghai. The word dates from 1824.
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:
Behind them the water is a luminescent strip of blue, abutting a silhouetted skyline in which many of the buildings belch smoke; a few of the industrial structures spew fire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
After the test run, Petty concluded that it will take less than 90 days to clean the three skyscrapers that stick out on the city skyline over Crypto.com Arena and the Harbor Freeway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The lavish estate features a resort-style swimming pool, private dock, guesthouse, basketball court, spa, expansive outdoor entertaining areas, and panoramic views of the Miami skyline.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Agotnes called the stadium experience "pretty cool", thanks to seats that offered a great "bird's eye view" of both the play on the pitch and the city's skyline.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
I don’t know why anyone would want to buy a watercolor painting of the skyline, for instance, or a woodcarving of the Cubs logo, but I suppose there must be a market for such things.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
“A city can be booming and unaffordable at the same time. It can have ever-expanding skylines while its people live ever-shrinking lives. We are not going to pretend that that’s good enough.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
As land values surged and horizontal growth became constrained, elevators and downtowns together climbed vertically from the steel-frame towers of the late 19th century to the glass supertalls that shape today’s skylines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
The movie opens with a bird’s-eye view of Los Angeles’ picturesque skylines, reservoirs and grassy hillsides before the bold-faced title appears, accompanied by ominous music courtesy of legendary composer John Williams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Minnesota issued a record 23rd air quality alert for the year through late Wednesday night, as smoky skies obscured the skylines of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
She’s drawn cities there, skylines around the soles.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
He is skylined on the hill above us, facing us from 184 yards away.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
