: 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 New Shepard rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a September 2022 uncrewed mission failed roughly a minute after liftoff from Texas, forcing the rocket's capsule full of NASA experiments to safely eject mid-flight.
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USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
Earlier this week, NASA and Boeing were forced to stand down from a launch attempt of the Starliner spacecraft due to a faulty valve that ground teams discovered just hours before liftoff.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff 
USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
Earlier this week, NASA and Boeing were forced to stand down from a launch attempt of the Starliner spacecraft due to a faulty valve that ground teams discovered just hours before liftoff.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liftoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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