heaven

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhɛv(ə)n/

noun

  • 1 (often Heaven) a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky: those who practised good deeds would receive the reward of a place in heaven Juno, Queen of Heaven and wife of Jupiter
  • God (or the gods): Constantine was persuaded that disunity in the Church was displeasing to heaven
  • Theology a state of being eternally in the presence of God after death: the everlasting happiness with God that we call heaven
  • used in various exclamations as a substitute for ‘God’: heaven knows! good heavens!
  • 2 (also the heavens) literary the sky, especially perceived as a vault in which the sun, moon, stars, and planets are situated: Galileo used a telescope to observe the heavens
  • 3 informal a place, state, or experience of supreme bliss: lying by the pool with a good book is my idea of heaven

Phrases

the heavens open

it suddenly starts to rain very heavily.

in seventh heaven

very happy; ecstatic: he was in seventh heaven, so excited

move heaven and earth to do something

make extraordinary efforts to do a specified thing: if he had truly loved her he would have moved heaven and earth to get her back

stink (or smell) to high heaven

have a very strong and unpleasant odour: the quayside stank to high heaven of salt fish

Derivatives

heavenward

adjective & adverb

heavenwards

adverb

Origin:

Old English heofon, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hemel and German Himmel