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.
The flames engulfed the roof of the building, set in the 11th-century landmark, blazing across the Ukrainian capital's skyline.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
That has fuelled a construction boom, filling the skyline with cranes, creating traffic bottlenecks and putting a strain on key services.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city skyline with florid graffiti art is a stated priority for buyers and the city, but a federal bankruptcy court has yet to approve the sale.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
“I sent photos to my mom like, Mom, look! Because Chicago has a beautiful skyline and I was in the middle of it,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
By the time the sun started setting over the Manhattan skyline in the distance, Magdalys and Two Step were covered in soot, but they’d gotten the whole process down to a smooth, step-by-step rhythm.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
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.
