noun

heaven

The sky and the space beyond it.

The astronomer turns her telescope toward the heavens.

Etymology

The inherited word names the sky above. This physical sense retains that visible expanse and what lies beyond it, alongside the word’s religious uses.

More examples

  • Dark clouds gathered across the heavens.
  • The poet imagined stars scattered through heaven.
  • A streak of light flashed through the heavens.

Forms

heaven · heavens

Similar words

sky
The everyday word; heavens is more literary.
firmament
A literary or biblical term for the sky above.