What does ‘on cloud nine’ mean?
To “on cloud nine” means to extremely happy. A 20th-century American idiom, likely from a US Weather Bureau classification of high cumulonimbus clouds; not in Brewer's 1898.
Origin
- A 20th-century American idiom, likely from a US Weather Bureau classification of high cumulonimbus clouds; not in Brewer's 1898.
How to use it
- Everyday superlative for delight.
- Example: She's been on cloud nine since the engagement.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.