sky

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   The space above the earth that we see overhead, where clouds, sun, moon and stars appear.

   Grammar: Usually takes the: look at the sky; plural skies refers to weather.

   Patterns

   • in the sky
   • across the sky

   The sky turned orange at sunset.

   Birds wheeled across the sky.

   Dark clouds filled the sky before the storm.

2. 2nounusually plural

   The weather or appearance of the heavens at a given time, usually in the plural.

   Grammar: Usually skies: clear skies, cloudy skies.

   Patterns

   • clear skies
   • under grey skies

   Clear skies are expected through the weekend.

   We traveled under grey skies all week.

   Blue skies greeted the travelers.

3. 3verbtransitivesport

   To hit a ball very high into the air, especially by mistake.

   Grammar: Takes an object: he skied the ball.

   Patterns

   • sky the ball

   The batter skied the ball into the outfield.

   He skied his shot well over the bar.

Word forms

Common combinations

clear sky

A clear sky made the stars easy to see.

open sky

They slept under the open sky.

the sky's the limit

With this plan, the sky's the limit.

night sky

The night sky was full of stars.

out of the blue sky

The offer came out of a clear sky.

Synonyms and how they differ

heavens

Heavens is poetic or religious, whereas sky is the ordinary word.

firmament

Firmament is a literary word for the vault of the sky and rarely appears in everyday speech.

atmosphere

Atmosphere refers to the layer of gases around the planet, not just what you see overhead.

Opposites

Word family

skyline noun

the outline of buildings against the sky

skyscraper noun

a very tall building

skyward adverb

toward the sky

skylight noun

a window in a roof

skydiving noun

jumping from an aircraft with a parachute

Commonly confused: sky or ski?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sky”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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