- sky
- nounADJECTIVE▪ big, vast, wide▪ open▪
We slept under the open sky.
▪ empty▪ bright, clear, cloudless, sunny▪a week of cloudless skies
▪ hazy, smoggy▪ cloudy, dull, overcast▪ stormy▪ star-filled, starlit, starry, star-studded▪ moonlit▪ dark, darkening, pale▪ azure, blue, cerulean (esp. AmE)▪I opened my shutters and saw a brilliant blue sky.
▪ grey/gray, leaden▪ black, inky, moonless▪the pale moon in the inky night sky
▪ morning, night, etc.▪ January, spring, winter, wintry, etc.▪ northern, southern, etc.▪ desert▪the vast desert skies
… OF SKY▪ patch▪a patch of blue sky
VERB + SKY▪ illuminate, light up▪The fireworks lit up the sky.
▪ fill▪Flocks of flamingoes fill the sky.
▪ scan, watch▪Astronomers scan the night skies for asteroids.
▪ patrolSKY + VERB▪ clear, clear up, lighten▪The rain stopped and the skies cleared.
▪ cloud over (esp. BrE), darken, turn grey/gray▪The afternoon sky turned orange.
▪ be streaked with sth▪The sky was streaked with gold.
▪ glow (with sth), light up (with sth)▪The sky glows red with fire.
▪ open (= start raining)▪The skies opened and rain poured down.
PREPOSITION▪ across the sky▪Black clouds spread across the sky.
▪ against the sky▪The eagle was black against the morning sky.
▪ beneath a … sky, under a … sky▪a ship tossing under a dark sky
▪ from the sky, out of the sky▪A strange object dropped out of the sky.
▪ in the sky▪There was a kite high up in the sky.
▪ sky above▪A helicopter appeared in the sky above them.
▪ sky over▪to patrol the skies over the Atlantic
PHRASES▪ high in the sky, low in the sky▪when the sun is low in the sky
▪ the sky above, the sky overhead▪Swallows darted about in the sky overhead.
▪ the sky is falling (figurative, esp. AmE)▪alarmists who claim that the sky is falling
▪ reach for the sky (often figurative)▪My philosophy has always been to reach for the sky.
▪ take to the skies (= to go into the sky)▪Some vintage aircraft will be taking to the skies at this weekend's fair.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.