liftoff
noun
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Definition of liftoff
: a vertical takeoff by an aircraft or a rocket vehicle or missile
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Examples of liftoff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Then, this past March, the agency pushed the scheduled liftoff date back again, to May 2020. — Mike Wall, Scientific American, "NASA Defers Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Again—This Time to 2021," 27 June 2018 At liftoff, the Heavy packs about 5 million pounds of thrust. — Jennifer Earl, Fox News, "How the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket compares to Elon Musk's other powerful spacecraft," 12 Mar. 2018 Speaking of test flights, Interstellar Technologies Inc. attempted to launch its Momo-2 rocket on Saturday, June 30, but the rocket burst into flames just seconds after liftoff from Hokkaido. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Japanese rocket blows up, NASA chief ponders purpose of SLS," 6 July 2018 An unmanned rocket crashed in a huge fireball just seconds after liftoff off in Japan. — Robert Gearty, Fox News, "Rocket bursts into flames after liftoff in Japan," 30 June 2018 However, SpaceX won’t attempt to land this Falcon 9 after liftoff. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "SpaceX is sending an AI robot ‘crew member’ to join the astronauts on the space station," 28 June 2018 Or, watch as NASA launches the Parker Solar Probe, scheduled for liftoff on July 31. — Doreen Christensen, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Freebies for National Teacher Appreciation Day on May 8," 4 May 2018 As planned, the nine Merlin 1D engines at the base of the first stage shut down two minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, burning through virtually all of the booster's propellants. — William Harwood, CBS News, "SpaceX rocket launches powerful communications satellite," 4 June 2018 Fly-sized bots have mastered liftoff, flight, landing, but all while bound to an outside power source. — Ellen Airhart, WIRED, "This Insect-Sized Flying Robot Is Powered by Lasers," 15 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'liftoff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
A New Meaning of 'Liftoff'
A New Meaning of 'Liftoff'
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which means we have 'liftoff'.
Dictionary Entries near liftoff
Statistics for liftoff
Last Updated
8 Sep 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for liftoff
The first known use of liftoff was circa 1956
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More Definitions for liftoff
liftoff
noun
English Language Learners Definition of liftoff
: the upward movement from the ground by a rocket, helicopter, or space vehicle as it begins flight
See the full definition for liftoff in the English Language Learners Dictionary
liftoff
noun
\
Kids Definition of liftoff
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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