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 tower marks the second attempt by developers to build a Trump skyscraper in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 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

On Fifth Avenue that summer, demolition was soon to begin on the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, clearing the way for a skyscraper of unprecedented proportions, the Empire State Building.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

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

"If a galaxy were a city, the brightest stars would be the skyscrapers that immediately catch your eye from afar," said lead author Chloe Cheng, a recent doctoral graduate of Leiden University.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

Rows of eerily vacant skyscrapers loom over quiet streets.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

But South Korea's heatwave has made it uninhabitable, forcing him to seek refuge under a makeshift tarp just a stone’s throw from Gangnam’s gleaming skyscrapers, where the wealthy remain cool in their aloof abodes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

As we headed toward the subway to go back up to Harlem, I scoped out the tall Midtown skyscrapers one last time.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

Related Words

• high-rise