sky

[skahy] /skaɪ/

noun, plural skies. Often, skies (for defs 1–4).

the region of the clouds or the upper air; the upper atmosphere of the earth:

airplanes in the sky; cloudy skies.

the heavens or firmament, appearing as a great arch or vault.

the supernal or celestial heaven:

They looked to the sky for help.

the climate:

the sunny skies of Italy.

Obsolete. a cloud.

verb (used with object), skied or skyed, skying.

Informal. to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air.

Informal. to hang (a painting) high on a wall, above the line of vision.

Verb phrases

sky up, Falconry. (of prey, when flushed) to fly straight upward.

Idioms

out of a / the clear sky, without advance notice or warning; abruptly:

An old beau phoned her out of a clear sky.

Also, out of a/the clear blue sky.

10.

to the skies, with lavishness or enthusiasm; extravagantly:

to praise someone to the skies.

Also, to the sky.

Origin

1175-1225; Middle English < Old Norse skȳ cloud, cognate with Old English scēo cloud

Related forms

skyless, adjective

skylike, adjective

Examples from the web for sky

The laser shoots up into the sky and excites atoms in the upper atmosphere, causing them to glow.
From a cloudless blue sky the resplendent solar disk dazzles the eye.
More than an hour after sunset a veil of glowing clouds appears low in the northern sky.
There may not be quite as many bombs falling from the sky.
Had you been alive at the dawn of the solar system, the night sky would have been bright enough to read by.
To human eyes, the night sky is a confetti of stars.
Shooting lasers at the sky can make the germ of a rain cloud, a new study shows.
He wrote some excellent introductions to the night sky.
Forget looking on the ground for colored eggs this holiday weekend, because the treats are all up in the night sky.
Late in the day, two hot-air balloons skim the dusky sky.

British Dictionary definitions for sky

sky

/skaɪ/

noun (pl) skies

(sometimes pl) the apparently dome-shaped expanse extending upwards from the horizon that is characteristically blue or grey during the day, red in the evening, and black at night related adjectives celestial empyrean

outer space, as seen from the earth

(often pl) weather, as described by the appearance of the upper air: sunny skies

the source of divine power; heaven

(informal) the highest level of attainment: the sky's the limit

to the skies, highly; extravagantly

verb skies, skying, skied

(rowing) to lift (the blade of an oar) too high before a stroke

(transitive) (informal) to hit (a ball) high in the air

Derived Forms

skylike, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old Norse skӯ; related to Old English scio cloud, Old Saxon skio, Old Norse skjār transparent skin

Word Origin and History for sky

c.1200, "a cloud," from Old Norse sky "cloud," from Proto-Germanic *skeujam "cloud, cloud cover" (cf. Old English sceo, Old Saxon scio "cloud, region of the clouds, sky;" Old High German scuwo, Old English scua, Old Norse skuggi "shadow;" Gothic skuggwa "mirror"), from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)).

Meaning "upper regions of the air" is attested from c.1300; replaced native heofon in this sense (see heaven). In Middle English, the word can still mean both "cloud" and "heaven," as still in the skies, originally "the clouds." Sky-high is from 1812; phrase the sky's the limit is attested from 1908. Sky-dive first recorded 1965; sky-writing is from 1922.

"to raise or throw toward the skies," 1802, from sky (n.).

sky in Science

sky

(skī)
The atmosphere, as seen from a given point on the Earth's surface. The sky appears to be blue because the wavelengths associated with blue light are scattered more easily than those that are associated with the other colors.

Slang definitions & phrases for sky

sky

verb

To hit or kick or throw a ball very high: see me skying out there?/ This time he skied the punt right over the end zone (1909+ Sports)
To jump high in order to slam-dunk the ball; air (1980s+ Basketball)

Related Terms

pie in the sky

Idioms and Phrases with sky

sky

In addition to the idiom beginning with

sky

also see: