Dictionary

skyscraper en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪp.ə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪpɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Compound of sky + scraper, first applied to tall steel-frame buildings in American cities such as New York City and Chicago in the 1880s.

Meanings

1. A very tall building with a large number of floors.
   • As the curve of Sandy Hook blotted from sight the last, low glimpse of the skyscrapers which point Manhattan, Blake touched Annette's arm. 1910, William Henry Irwin, The House of Mystery:
   • Construction of the world’s tallest unoccupied skyscraper may resume as early as next week, almost 10 years after work ground to a halt, according to Chinese state media. 2025 April 24, Oscar Holland, “Construction of world’s tallest abandoned skyscraper to resume after a decade”, in CNN:
   • The Wards are open-topped, with skyscrapers rising from the superstructure. Towers are sealed against vacuum, as the breathable atmosphere envelope is only maintained to a height of about seven meters. The atmosphere is contained by the centrifugal force of rotation and a "membrane" of dense, colorless sulphur hexafluoride gas, held in place by carefully managed mass effect fields. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel Station: Wards Codex entry:
   • The fact that land is a commodity of unlimited extent in America, together with the now appreciated fact that most high buildings have been economic failures, spell the doom of the skyscraper concept. 1872, Pamphlets on Transportation, volume 1, (italics in the original), page 23:
   • Its steel helped build America, from the skyscrapers dotting city landscapes to the cars speeding down highways, to the appliances inside millions of homes. 2025 June 13, Luciana Lopez and Chris Isidore, “US Steel and Nippon Steel say Trump has approved their partnership”, in CNN Business:
   • Then he noticed, as a prosaic business man will notice suddenly, that a skyscraper which he has passed daily for months is out of line with its neighbor, that the seat behind the new little girl was unoccupied and that she stood alone in the aisle during exercises. 1917, Herman Gastrell Seely, A Son of the City: A Story of Boy Life:
   • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.[…] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip. 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2020, page 52:
   • The solitary attic—if one could thus designate a space of about three square feet—which comprised Hamar's lodging—had the advantage of being situated in the top storey of a skyscraper—at least a skyscraper for that part of the city. 1912, Elliott O'Donnell, The Sorcery Club:
2. (archaic) A small sail atop a mast of a ship; a triangular skysail.
   • Skyscraper. A name given to a skysail when it is triangular. [1880, “The West India Pocket Book”, in The West Indies, volume I, London, England, United Kingdom: S. W. Silver & Co., (bold in the original), page 104:
3. (figuratively) Anything very tall or high.
   • It was no surprise to see Hanley bat a skyscraper out to left. 1920, Zane Grey, The Redheaded Outfield and other Baseball Stories:

Forms

Antonyms

groundscraper · earthscraper

Coordinates

mid rise · lowrise · low rise · low-rise · mid-rise · highrise · midrise · high-rise · high rise

Deriveds

skyscraperland · Rothscraper · skyscrapered · skyscraper heel · -scraper · skyscraperless

Descendants

caeliscalpium · 摩天樓 · rascacielos · felhőkarcoló · небостърга́ч · גורד שחקים · grattacielo · arranha-céus · 摩天楼 · zgârie-nori · gratte-ciel · pencakar langit · 마천루 · dangóraižis · ουρανοξύστης · mrakodrap · nebotičnik · 摩天楼 · Wolkenkratzer · skyskrapa · gökdelen · хмарочос · хмарачос · nhà chọc trời · skyskraper · kikunawingu · небоскрёб · небаскроб · drapacz chmur · গগনচুম্বী · nȅbodēr/не̏боде̄р

Hyponyms

supertall · megatall · tall · plain tall

Translations (117)

sk mrakodrap (tall building) · eo nubskrapulo (tall building) · pl drapacz (tall building) · ht gratsyèl (tall building) · lb Wollekekrazert (tall building) · he גּוֹרֵד־שְׁחָקִים (tall building) · pl trójkątny żagiel masztowy (sail) · my မိုးမျှော်တိုက် (tall building) · sq qiellgërvishtës (tall building) · mt skajskrejper (tall building) · az göydələn (tall building) · ko 마천루 (tall building) · ka ცათამბჯენი (tall building) · hu felhőkarcoló (tall building) · ro building (tall building) · eu etxeorratz (tall building) · yi סקייסקרייפּער (tall building) · kmr balexane (tall building) · tl kayudlangit (tall building) · jv pencakar langit (tall building) · af wolkekrabber (tall building) · mk облакоде́р (tall building) · sv skyskrapa (tall building) · oc gratacèl (tall building) · sq rrokaqiell (tall building) · id pencakar langit (tall building) · kk көктіреген (tall building) · lv debesskrāpis (tall building) · fa-ira آسْمانخَراش (tall building) · ml അംബരച്ചുംബി (tall building) · rsk нєботичнїк (tall building) · pms gratacel (tall building) · sl nebotičnik (tall building) · ja 超高層ビル (tall building) · rm sgrattatschiel (tall building) · ta வானளாவி (tall building) · yue 摩天樓 /摩天楼 (tall building) · fy wolkekliuwer (tall building) · uk хмарочо́с (tall building) · sh nȅbodēr (tall building) · hi गगनचुंबी भवन (tall building) · cy entrychdy (tall building) · vi nhà chọc trời (tall building) · fy wolkekrabber (tall building) · el ουρανοξύστης (tall building) · ro zgârie-nori (tall building) · ur کَثِیر اُلْمَنازِل عِمارَت (tall building) · nl wolkenkrabber (tall building) · ja 摩天楼 (tall building) · es rascacielos (tall building) · da skyskraber (tall building) · es torre (tall building) · crh kökteşken (tall building) · pl wieżowiec (tall building) · gl rañaceos (tall building) · et pilvelõhkuja (tall building) · tr gökdelen (tall building) · ta உயரமான கட்டிடத்தை (tall building) · cmn 摩天大樓 /摩天大楼 (tall building) · nb skyskraper (tall building) · hu csúcsvitorla (sail) · be небася́г (tall building) · nn skyskrapar (tall building) · sh oblakoder (tall building) · fo háhús (tall building) · ky небоскрёб (tall building) · sh не̏боде̄р (tall building) · sw kikunawingu (tall building) · ru небоскрёб (tall building) · ne गगनचुम्बी भवन (tall building) · cmn 摩天樓 /摩天楼 (tall building) · fi pilvenpiirtäjä (tall building) · la caeliscalpium (tall building) · kl skyskraberi (tall building) · uz osmonoʻpar (tall building) · pl drapacz chmur (tall building) · bn আকাশঝাড়ু (tall building) · cy nendwr (tall building) · mr गगनचुंबी (tall building) · cy cwmwlgrafwr (tall building) · ms pencakar langit (tall building) · bg небостърга́ч (tall building) · ko 초고층 건물 (tall building) · yo ilé àwòṣífìlà (tall building) · sh солѝте̄р (tall building) · io cieloskrapero (tall building) · is skýjakljúfur (tall building) · de Hochhaus (tall building) · tg осмонхарош (tall building) · ovd stjyskrapu (tall building) · ar نَاطِحَة سَحَاب (tall building) · it grattacielo (tall building) · sh облакодер (tall building) · ga teach spéire (tall building) · fr gratte-ciel (tall building) · yo ilé gogoro (tall building) · myv менельтокиця (tall building) · de Wolkenkratzer (tall building) · cs mrakodrap (tall building) · rsk солитер (tall building) · sh solìtēr (tall building) · ps ستورڅک (tall building) · th ตึกระฟ้า (tall building) · mi whare tīkoke (tall building) · bn গগনচুম্বী (tall building) · tt күктерәү (tall building) · lt dangoraižis (tall building) · pt arranha-céus (tall building) · ur فَلَک بوس عِمارَت (tall building) · hy երկնաքեր (tall building) · hi गगनचुंबी इमारत (tall building) · ca gratacel (tall building) · pdt Wolkjenkrauza (tall building) · kn ಗಗನಚುಂಬಿ (tall building) · ga ilstórach (tall building) · gu ગગનચુંબી (tall building) · te ఆకాశసౌధము (tall building)

wikidata: Q11303