skyrocket
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
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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.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to cause to rise or increase rapidly and usually suddenly.
Economic changes have skyrocketed prices.
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to thrust with sudden dramatic advancement; catapult.
Talent has skyrocketed him to fame.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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skyrocketsimple
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skyrocketssimple
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have skyrocketedperfect
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has skyrocketedperfect
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am skyrocketingprogressive
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are skyrocketingprogressive
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is skyrocketingprogressive
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have been skyrocketingperfect progressive
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has been skyrocketingperfect progressive
Past
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skyrocketedsimple
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had skyrocketedperfect
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was skyrocketingprogressive
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were skyrocketingprogressive
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had been skyrocketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of skyrocket
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.
Vocabulary lists containing skyrocket
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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:
The company, a supplier of advanced memory chips to industry behemoth Nvidia, has seen profits skyrocket thanks to the global race to build artificial intelligence data centres.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
To my surprise not one skyrocket, bottle rocket or firecracker was missing.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
Micron has seen its earnings skyrocket this year, and analysts expect something to the tune of an 1,000% increase in adjusted earnings per share when the company posts May-quarter results later this week.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
If the dwindling global buffer against oil-supply shocks shrinks enough, prices could skyrocket, oil executives said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 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
Investors have also been debating whether memory-chip makers can escape their historic boom-bust cycles as AI demand skyrockets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Samsung, which makes memory chips essential for AI data centres, has also seen its value and profits soar as global demand skyrockets.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Swinney accused UK ministers of "twiddling their thumbs" while the cost of living for rural households skyrockets.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
As the price of rights to coveted sporting events skyrockets, the broadcasters have America’s most-loved tournament locked up for seven more years in exchange for relatively fixed annual payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2025
The same is true of Fourth of July equipment, flags and bunting and skyrockets.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Oregon’s affordable housing production has skyrocketed in recent years.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
While IonQ rose a modest 7.4% and Rigetti gained roughly 45%, D-Wave skyrocketed 211% in 2025.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Signatures on education technology petitions nationwide skyrocketed 11-fold following LAUSD’s decision, according to data from the petition company Four Norms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
"Fuel prices have skyrocketed recently. But it isn't just fuel prices you've got to take into account," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
I knew my father wanted me to go back to school, but as inflation skyrocketed, we had less money to go around.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Rowdy children represent yet another challenge for restaurants like his that have struggled through the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, skyrocketing prices for beef, cooking oil and other goods, Xue said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Olive crops were particularly affected, with the price of olive oil skyrocketing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Meanwhile, this February, nightclubs and grassroots spaces were excluded from the business rates relief scheme, despite the venues' rateable value skyrocketing by 56% since 2017.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Other states and cities are grappling with skyrocketing housing costs, sparking movements to try to tame rising rents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
An effective test-prep class—one that drills students repeatedly on the kinds of questions they will encounter on a specific test—can, in a given year, send test scores skyrocketing.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
