Skyscraper Meaning
/ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪpɚ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA very tall building with a large number of floors.
nounA small sail atop a mast of a ship; a triangular skysail.
Sentence Examples
The elevators in a skyscraper are vital systems.
The skyscraper rose above the other buildings around.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tallest building in the city, a 100-story ____, touched the clouds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new ____ in the city center is now the tallest building in the entire country.
Word Origin & History
Compound of sky + scraper, first applied to tall steel-frame buildings in American cities such as New York City and Chicago in the 1880s.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tallest building in the city, a 100-story ____, touched the clouds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new ____ in the city center is now the tallest building in the entire country.