skyscraper
/ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪpɚ/noun
skyscraper is spelled S-K-Y-S-C-R-A-P-E-R: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, skyscraper means “A very tall building with a large number of floors” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of skyscraper is skyscrapers.
How many letters and syllables are in skyscraper?
| Letters | 10: S-K-Y-S-C-R-A-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skyscraper?
Skyscraper appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce skyscraper?
- US /ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪpɚ/
- UK /ˈskaɪˌskɹeɪp.ə(ɹ)/
Skyscraper has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-skyscraper.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skyscraper
- skyscrapers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skyscraper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A very tall building with a large number of floors.
- 2
archaicA small sail atop a mast of a ship; a triangular skysail.
- 3
Anything very tall or high.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skyscraper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tall building:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gratte-ciel |
| German | Wolkenkratzer, Hochhaus |
| Portuguese | arranha-céus |
| Spanish | rascacielos, torre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does skyscraper come from?
Compound of sky + scraper, first applied to tall steel-frame buildings in American cities such as New York City and Chicago in the 1880s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).