Meaning & use
blue sky
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The clear sky when it is blue, with no clouds.
Grammar: Uncountable; used mainly in descriptions of weather or scenery.
Patterns
- under a blue sky
- a blue sky day
We had a picnic under a bright blue sky.
The blue sky stretched for miles without a single cloud.
adjectivebefore a nounbusiness
Relating to business ideas that are not yet practical or based on reality.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'blue-sky thinking' or 'blue-sky research'.
Patterns
- blue-sky thinking
- blue-sky research
The manager encouraged blue-sky thinking to solve the problem.
Their blue-sky proposal was exciting but had no clear funding.
Common combinations
- blue-sky thinking
- The workshop was all about blue-sky thinking, not practical plans.
- blue-sky research
- The university invested in blue-sky research with no immediate commercial use.
- blue sky day
- It was a perfect blue sky day for a walk.
- under a blue sky
- They got married under a clear blue sky.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clear sky
- Focuses on the absence of clouds; 'blue sky' emphasizes the color and pleasant weather.
- speculative
- Used for ideas based on guesswork rather than fact; 'blue-sky' often implies creative but impractical ideas.
Opposites
Word family
- blue-sky adjective
- Hyphenated form used before nouns, e.g., 'blue-sky thinking'.
Commonly confused: blue sky or bluebird?
blue sky vs bluebird
A type of bird, not related to the sky.
Practice
In a business meeting, someone says, 'We need some blue-sky thinking.' What do they mean?
Choose one answer.
'Blue-sky thinking' means generating creative ideas without worrying about practical limits. Option 0 is the opposite; options 2 and 3 are literal and unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blue sky”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.