: a vertical takeoff by an aircraft or a rocket vehicle or missile
Examples of liftoff in a Sentence
a series of successful liftoffs
Thousand of spectators gathered to watch the liftoff of the space shuttle.
Recent Examples on the Web
The rocket's Centaur upper stage released the satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers) less than an hour after liftoff.
—
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 3 May 2025
Related: Europe's Vega-C rocket launches Earth-observation satellite on 1st liftoff since 2022 failure (video)
If all goes according to plan on Tuesday, the Vega-C will deploy Biomass into a sun-synchronous orbit 414 miles (666 kilometers) above Earth about 57 minutes after liftoff.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 29 Apr. 2025
The May 6 attempt was scrubbed two hours before liftoff because of valve on ULA’s upper Centaur stage that teams continue to investigate.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2025
Watch live above as the crew heads off to the final frontier, and read on to learn more about their historic liftoff.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liftoff
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 3 May 2025
Related: Europe's Vega-C rocket launches Earth-observation satellite on 1st liftoff since 2022 failure (video)
If all goes according to plan on Tuesday, the Vega-C will deploy Biomass into a sun-synchronous orbit 414 miles (666 kilometers) above Earth about 57 minutes after liftoff.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 29 Apr. 2025
The May 6 attempt was scrubbed two hours before liftoff because of valve on ULA’s upper Centaur stage that teams continue to investigate.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2025
Watch live above as the crew heads off to the final frontier, and read on to learn more about their historic liftoff.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liftoff
Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share