skyrocket

American  

[skahy-rok-it] / ˈskaɪˌrɒk ɪt /

noun

1. a rocket firework that ascends into the air and explodes at a height, usually in a brilliant array of sparks of one or more colors.

2. Also called scarlet gilia.  a plant, Ipomopsis aggregata, of the phlox family, native to western North America, having finely divided leaves and clusters of red, trumpet-shaped flowers.

3. an organized group cheer, usually led by a cheerleader, as at a football or basketball game, which begins with a hissing or whistling and ends with a shout.

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verb (used without object)

1. to rise or increase rapidly or suddenly, especially to unexpected or unprecedented levels.

   Prices skyrocketed during the war.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to rise or increase rapidly and usually suddenly.

   Economic changes have skyrocketed prices.

2. to thrust with sudden dramatic advancement; catapult.

   Talent has skyrocketed him to fame.

skyrocket British  

/ ˈskaɪˌrɒkɪt /

noun

1. another word for rocket 1

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verb

1. informal (intr) to rise rapidly, as in price

Etymology

Origin of skyrocket

First recorded in 1680–90; sky + rocket ¹

Explanation

When something skyrockets, it shoots up. Immediately after the Winter Olympics, interest in ice skating, bobsledding, and curling tends to skyrocket, or increase suddenly and dramatically. The verb skyrocket is good to use when something grows or shoots up as abruptly as a firework. Gas prices, food prices, debt, and winter cases of the flu are all said, from time to time, to skyrocket. A more literal meaning of skyrocket is the actual rocket that's designed to send a flare or firework high into the sky. A bottle rocket — a firework that is placed in an empty bottle before being lit and shooting into the air — is one example of a small skyrocket.

Example Sentences

That closure has impacted the world's supplies of oil and liquid natural gas, and caused energy prices to skyrocket.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Anthropic and OpenAI are both widely expected to pursue IPOs as soon as this year and have seen their valuations skyrocket in a relatively short period of time.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

The Bears, with good reason, feared that their tax bill would skyrocket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Fuel distributors, caught between the fear of seeing barrel prices skyrocket and the regulation of prices at the pump, are being singled out as responsible for the sudden shortage.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

“I didn’t expect fundamental deterioration in the underlying mortgage pools to hit critical levels for a couple years,” he said—when the teaser rates would vanish and monthly payments would skyrocket.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• catapult
• escalate
• rise
• rocket
• shoot up
• zoom