: 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
When a launch is imminent, the astronauts will fly to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida about six days prior to liftoff.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
The Saturday launch attempt scrubbed under a minute before liftoff because of bad weather in the booster recovery area.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2026
That liftoff has been accelerated up teh calendar to replace the Crew-11 astronauts, who were forced back to Earth early due to an undisclosed medical issue with one of the astronauts.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Space shuttle Challenger exploded into a gigantic fireball moments after liftoff today, apparently killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for liftoff
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Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
The Saturday launch attempt scrubbed under a minute before liftoff because of bad weather in the booster recovery area.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2026
That liftoff has been accelerated up teh calendar to replace the Crew-11 astronauts, who were forced back to Earth early due to an undisclosed medical issue with one of the astronauts.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Space shuttle Challenger exploded into a gigantic fireball moments after liftoff today, apparently killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 28 Jan. 2026
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 Feb. 2026.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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