What does "heaven" mean?
The sky, specifically:; The distant sky in which the sun, moon, and stars appear or move; the firmament; the celestial spheres.
Heaven
/ˈhɛvən/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The sky, specifically:; The distant sky in which the sun, moon, and stars appear or move; the firmament; the celestial spheres.
- Grammar: heaven is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: firmament, nirvana, paradise, sky.
- Useful contrasts: nether, gehenna, aidoneus.
- Usage evidence: For the love of Heaven, don't get angry.
How to use "heaven"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "heaven" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "heaven" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "heaven" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "heaven" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "heaven" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "firmament" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The sky, specifically:; The distant sky in which the sun, moon, and stars appear or move; the firmament; the celestial spheres. countable, dated, plural-normally, poetic, uncountable
"All that is vnder the heauen."
- 2 a place regarded by various beliefs as the abode of their deities; also a place where good people are believed to go after death wordnet
- 3 The sky, specifically:; The near sky in which weather, flying animals, etc. appear; (obsolete) the atmosphere; the climate. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues."
- 4 any place of complete bliss and delight and peace wordnet
- 5 The sky, specifically:; A model displaying the movement of the celestial bodies, an orrery. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Euery man cannot, with Archimedes, make a heauen of brasse."
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- 6 The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; The abode of God and of the angels and saints in His presence. capitalized, countable, uncountable, usually
"And there was a battel in heauen. Michael & his Angels foght againſt the dragon, and the dragon foght & his Angels. But they preuailed not, nether was their place founde anie more in heauen."
- 7 The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; The abode of the Abrahamic God; similar abodes of the gods in other religions and traditions, such as Mount Olympus. broadly, capitalized, countable, often, uncountable
"With Ioue in heauen, or some where else."
- 8 The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; Providence, the will of God or the council of the gods; fate. broadly, capitalized, countable, uncountable, usually
"[…]he cannot thriue, Vnlesse her prayers, whom heauen delights to heare And loues to grant, repreeue him from the wrath Of greatest Iustice."
- 9 The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically countable, uncountable
"I wonder what your idea of heaven would be—A beautiful vacuum filled with wealthy monogamists, all powerful and members of the best families drinking themselves to death. And hell would probably be an ugly vacuum full of poor polygamists unable to obtain booze... To me heaven would be a big bull ring with me holding two barrera seats and a trout stream outside that no one else was allowed to fish in and two lovely houses in the town; one where I would have my wife and children and be monogamous and love them truly and well and the other where I would have my nine beautiful mistresses on 9 different floors..."
- 10 The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:; Paradise, the afterlife of the souls who are not sent to a place of punishment or purification such as hell, purgatory, or limbo; the state or condition of being in the presence of God after death. countable, uncountable
"Teache the people to gett heuen with fastynge."
- 11 The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:; The afterlife of the blessed dead in other religions and traditions, such as the Pure Land or Elysium. broadly, capitalized, countable, often, uncountable
"The belief in ascending to Heaven after death became widespread in the Han dynasty."
- 12 Any paradise; any blissful place or experience. broadly, countable, uncountable
"Ile follow thee and make a heauen of hell."
- 13 A state of bliss; a peaceful ecstasy. broadly, countable, uncountable
"Husbandes are in heauen...whose wiues scold not."
- 14 Similarly blissful afterlives, places, or states for particular people, animals, or objects. countable, informal, uncountable
"Perhaps it has gone to the dog heaven, and is wagging somewhere in glory."
Verb
- 1 To transport to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed. obsolete
"He heauens himselfe on earth, & for a litle pelfe cousens himselfe of blisse."
- 2 To beatify, enchant, or please greatly. obsolete
"They [Byron's Tales]...enraptured the public and heavened Murray."
- 3 To beautify, to make into a paradise. obsolete
Proper Noun
- 1 The abode of God or the gods, when considered as a specific location; the abode of the blessed departed who reside in the presence of God or the gods
"Conſider firſt that the excommunicated Prelate ſaith... Kings are not immediatly from God, as by any ſpeciall Ordinance ſent from Heaven by the miniſtery of Angels and Prophets, there were but ſome few ſuch, as Moſes, Saul, David, etc."
- 2 Providence, the will of God or the gods, when considered as a personal entity or specific aspect of the divine; Fate
"...but that the will And high permission of all-ruling Heaven Left him at large to his own dark designs,"
- 3 Other extended senses of heaven as a specific place similar to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed departed uncommon
"The mind is its own place, and in it self Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."
- 4 The sky, particularly its distant aspect as the abode of the sun, moon, and stars obsolete
"Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues."
- 5 The supreme God or Nature which controls the universe. Chinese
"What Heaven has conferred is called the Nature..."
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- 6 A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Evan uncommon
- 7 A female given name from English of modern usage from the noun heaven. rare
Example
"For the love of Heaven, don't get angry."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "heaven"?
Common synonyms include: firmament, nirvana, paradise, sky, a better place, abodes.
How do you use "heaven" in a sentence?
For the love of Heaven, don't get angry.
How do you pronounce "heaven"?
Pronounced /ˈhɛvən/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From a wide variety of Middle English forms including hevene, heven, hevin, and hewin (“heaven, sky”), from Old English heofon, heofone (“heaven, sky”), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn (“heaven, sky”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots heiven, hewin (“heaven, sky”), Middle Dutch heven (“sky, heaven”), Low German Heven (“heaven, sky”), and possibly the rare Icelandic and Old Norse hifinn (“heaven, sky”), which are all probably dissimilated forms of the Germanic root which appears in Old Norse himinn (“heaven, sky”), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (himins, “heaven, sky”), Old Swedish himin, Old Danish himæn and probably also (in another variant form) Old Saxon himil, Old Dutch himil (modern Dutch hemel), and Old High German himil (German Himmel). Accepting these as cognates, some scholars propose a further derivation from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cover, cloud cover, firmament, sky, heaven”).
Etymology 2
See heaven.