launchpad

noun

launch·​pad ˈlȯnch-ˌpad How to pronounce launchpad (audio)
ˈlänch-
: a nonflammable platform from which a rocket, launch vehicle, or guided missile can be launched

Examples of launchpad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Last April, Starship made it off the launchpad, but a cascade of engine failures and fires in the booster led to the rocket’s destruction 24 miles above the Gulf of Mexico. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 More than half a century since humans set foot on the moon, Earth is sprinkled with launchpads, formidable signs of our space-explorer status. Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024 If approved, the plans would see the Arnhem Space Centre grow from one launchpad to 14, with the goal of launching dozens of rockets a year, the Australian Broadcast Corporation reports. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 12 Jan. 2024 Amazon says the claims are without merit. ULA is expanding a factory in Alabama, and retrofitting a facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to quickly stack Kuiper satellites on rockets and ferry them to the launchpad. Matt Day, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2023 In particular, the question of whether athletes from Russia and Belarus, a key military launchpad during the war in Ukraine, will be able to compete has become a flashpoint. George Ramsay, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 Called Vulcan Centaur, the 202-foot-tall rocket lifted off under a trail of flames at 2:18 a.m. ET from a Florida launchpad, powering an American moon lander, called Peregrine, into space, where it is designed to journey to the lunar surface. Micah Maidenberg, WSJ, 8 Jan. 2024 Historically, a stroll through Forks has been a good career launchpad. Shania Russell, EW.com, 26 Nov. 2023 The halftime show was a launchpad for Usher’s latest album Coming Home, which released days before his performance and is currently in contention to top Billboard’s Album chart next week. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'launchpad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of launchpad was in 1957

Dictionary Entries Near launchpad

Cite this Entry

“Launchpad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/launchpad. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

launchpad

noun
launch·​pad ˈlȯnch-ˌpad How to pronounce launchpad (audio)
ˈlänch-
: a nonflammable platform from which a rocket can be launched

called also launching pad

More from Merriam-Webster on launchpad

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