skydiving

American  

[skahy-dahy-ving] / ˈskaɪˌdaɪ vɪŋ /

Or sky diving

noun

1. the sport of jumping from an airplane at a moderate or high altitude and free-falling and using one's body to control direction or movements before opening one's parachute.

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skydiving British  

/ ˈskaɪˌdaɪvɪŋ /

noun

1. the sport of parachute jumping, in which participants perform manoeuvres before opening the parachute and attempt to land accurately

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Other Word Forms

• sky diver noun

Etymology

Origin of skydiving

First recorded in 1955–60; sky + dive + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

In Kyiv, Vysoven swapped his skydiving tourism business for balloon warfare after Russia invaded Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

That same month he posted photos of the wreckage a skydiving plane he was on saying the plane's engine had failed after take off.

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2025

Felix Baumgartner lived to leap, becoming the first person to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile skydiving adventure through the stratosphere in 2012.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2025

Her body was identified by Bryn Chaffe, who was chief instructor at the skydiving firm she used, Ms Blighe said.

From BBC • May 22, 2025

What I was doing up there had almost nothing in common with bungee jumping or skydiving or riding a motorcycle at 120 miles per hour.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer