launch vehicle

noun

: a rocket used to launch a satellite or spacecraft

Examples of launch vehicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The announcement did not specify Northstar’s first flight date or identify a launch vehicle for the engine. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026

The prospects for Starship remain uncertain; its goal of full reusability would be a historic first for any orbital spacecraft—let alone the largest launch vehicle ever built. — Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

That’s because the company is pulling back on the commercial availability of the workhorse launch vehicle. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Nov. 2026

SpaceX, which was the first to cinch a lunar landing contract in 2021, intends to use its gargantuan Starship launch vehicle — which is under development but recently completed its first orbital test flight. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1960, in the meaning defined above