Word.ws English Dictionary

cloud nine

UK/ˈklaʊd ˈnaɪn/

cloud nine noun: often in the phrase on cloud nine: a state of bliss, elation or happiness.

cloud nine: often in the phrase on cloud nine: a state of bliss, elation or happiness
Image: Googie man from enwp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

cloud nine (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic) Often in the phrase on cloud nine: a state of bliss, elation or happiness.
    • He was on cloud nine for days after she agreed to marry him.
    • In your zeal you may not feel you are undertaking a thing for your own sake but think you are doing so for God. Nevertheless, you should remember that at the time of great excitement as though you were on cloud nine, you may perhaps be most fleshly!1978, Watchman Nee, “Living by Faith”, in The Salvation of the Soul: Translated from the Chinese, New York, N.Y.: Christian Fellowship Publishers, →ISBN, page 107
  2. (idiomatic, nonstandard, possibly) A state of fantastic or impractical dreaming or thinking.
    • Now, the system approach, needless to say, wants to help out in that particular problem, but it lives up on cloud nine for the most part. This is one of the reasons that it has not made more headway than it has in the civilian agencies of government.1970 July 16, W. E. Cushen, “The Management of Change”, in Frances C. Bell, Harold F. Wollin, editors, Report of the 55th National Conference on Weights and Measures 1970: Sponsored by the National...
    • Mr. Walsh – […] It sounds like the purpose of the geographic base coding system is to fulfill a planning function of the agency. If that is not the case, then I am concerned as that is one way to get up on "cloud nine"—that is, to not associate with end products.1973 May, Robert Schindler, “Puget Sound Region—Establishing a Continuing Program [Question Period]”, in Jacob Silver, editor, Geographic Base File System—Establishing a Continuing Program...

cloud nine meaning in Arabic and Vietnamese

cloud nine in Arabic

state of bliss
قمَة السعادَة

cloud nine in Vietnamese

state of bliss
chín tầng mây

Examples of cloud nine in a sentence

  • Lili had been on cloud nine ever since she and Max had gotten back together.2008, Melissa de la Cruz, “Not Quite Ready for Her Close-up”, in Lip Gloss Jungle (Ashleys; 4), New York, N.Y.: Aladdin Mix, →ISBN...
  • On the first day at the university I was on cloud nine that I had begun my intellectual life.2010, Thumbiko Shumba, chapter 1, in Worklife, Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books, →ISBN, page 1:
  • Falling from cloud nine / Crashing from the high / I'm letting go tonight / Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine2012, Katy Perry, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Cirkut, “Wide Awake”, in Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, performed by Katy...
  • Members are living on cloud nine if they think that playing the stock-numbers game is doing anything for the farmers or the country.1981 July 28, Basil Arthur, “Appropriation Bill—Financial Statement”, in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): Third Session, Thirty-ninth...

Synonyms of cloud nine

Origin of cloud nine

The origin of sense 1 (“a state of bliss”) is uncertain; however, the following etymology has been suggested. (This etymology would explain the "nine" aspect, while not being the de novo origin of the "cloud" aspect; the extension of the meterological idea to an emotional valence would not have been a de novo development, as the association of clouds with dreaminess long predates the 1890s.) * The first edition of the International Cloud Atlas (1896), which defined ten types of cloud, described the ninth type as the cumulonimbus which rises to 10 km (6.2 miles), the highest a cloud can be. Compare cloud seven (“state of complete happiness or euphoria”), which may have originated from confusion of cloud nine with seventh heaven. Sense 2 (“a state of fantastic or impractical dreaming or thinking”) may be due to a confusion between sense 1 and the phrase head in the clouds.

Questions about cloud nine

What does cloud nine mean?
Cloud nine means often in the phrase on cloud nine: a state of bliss, elation or happiness.
What is cloud nine in Arabic?
Cloud nine in Arabic is قمَة السعادَة. See Cloud nine meaning in Arabic.
How do you use cloud nine in a sentence?
Lili had been on cloud nine ever since she and Max had gotten back together.
What part of speech is cloud nine?
Cloud nine is a noun.
How do you pronounce cloud nine?
Cloud nine is pronounced /ˈklaʊd ˈnaɪn/ (UK).

Words near cloud nine in the dictionary

  1. cloud genus
  2. cloud hole
  3. cloud holes
  4. cloud kitchen
  5. cloud kitchens
  6. cloud nine
  7. cloud number nine
  8. cloud of title
  9. cloud on title
  10. cloud over
  11. Cloud Peak

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cloud nine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-cloud nine.ogg.

Cite this entry: “cloud nine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cloud_nine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.