Synonyms of launch

launch 1 of 2

verb

ˈlȯnch 

1

as in to establish

to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of

after retiring, he launched a small company devoted to making medical devices

Synonyms & Similar Words

• establish
• initiate
• pioneer
• introduce
• found
• create
• institute
• inaugurate
• begin
• start
• plant
• constitute
• construct
• organize
• innovate
• develop
• originate
• set up
• author
• invent
• produce
• devise
• manufacture
• conceive
• fund
• expand
• think (up)
• cook (up)
• finance
• make up
• relaunch
• concoct
• father
• subsidize
• enlarge
• arrange
• fabricate
• endow
• contrive
• systematize
• reinitiate
• put up
• reinstitute
• systemize
• refound

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shut (up)
• close (down)
• end
• stop
• abolish
• finish
• nullify
• annul
• terminate
• phase out
• halt
• annihilate
• wind up
• round (off or out)
• wrap up

2

as in to begin

to take the first step in (a process or course of action)

she launched a career in journalism after quitting acting school

Synonyms & Similar Words

• begin
• commence
• start
• open
• fall (to)
• found
• get going
• create
• enter (into or upon)
• strike (into)
• get off
• embark (on or upon)
• set about
• initiate
• get to
• lead off
• generate
• inaugurate
• organize
• adopt
• establish
• invent
• kick off
• originate
• institute
• pioneer
• innovate
• take up
• spawn
• take on
• embrace
• get around (to)
• get down (to)
• set up
• father
• get round (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• end
• finish
• terminate
• stop
• conclude
• cease
• complete
• halt
• discontinue
• quit
• close
• leave
• lay off
• abandon
• destroy
• desist
• abolish
• extinguish
• knock off
• forsake
• phase out
• exterminate
• demolish

3

as in to throw

to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm

infantrymen launching grenades at the nest of machine gunners

Synonyms & Similar Words

• throw
• hurl
• toss
• fling
• sling
• fire
• catapult
• let fly
• cast
• heave
• pitch
• chuck
• lob
• dash
• hurtle
• flip
• loft
• peg
• pelt
• gun
• bowl
• dart
• roll
• project
• propel
• thrust
• shoot
• precipitate
• eject
• pass
• hook
• rifle
• impel
• buck

launch

2 of 2

noun

1

as in takeoff

a rising from a surface at the start of a flight (as of a rocket)

the reporters held their collective breath as they silently watched the space shuttle's launch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• takeoff
• liftoff
• blastoff
• ascent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• landing
• crash
• splashdown

2

as in start

the point at which something begins

we are at the launch of a new age of space exploration

Synonyms & Similar Words

• start
• beginning
• commencement
• inception
• onset
• alpha
• genesis
• dawn
• kickoff
• outset
• birth
• baseline
• inauguration
• threshold
• morning
• initiation
• infancy
• day one
• founding
• origination
• incipience
• nascence
• incipiency
• nascency
• get-go
• debut
• opening
• origin
• arrival
• creation
• spring
• first base
• drawing board
• emergence
• cradle
• advent
• ground zero
• institution
• source
• fountain
• appearance
• dawning
• germ
• well
• square one
• childhood
• root
• seedbed
• youth
• fountainhead
• wellspring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• end
• close
• conclusion
• ending
• completion
• period
• closing
• termination
• finish
• stop
• closure
• cessation
• omega
• finale
• windup

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of launch

Verb

For perspective on the enormity of the measure before voters, one of the state’s existing down payment programs, California Dream For All, launched several years ago with $500 million, just 2% of the funding involved in Proposition 37. — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Jackson launched his bid as a relative unknown, though Capitol insiders knew him because of Jackson Healthcare, its lucrative state contracts and his lobbying interest in healthcare, business and tax policy. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

Noun

This was the 36th launch and landing for B1063, which notably launched NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission in November 2021. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Anthropic’s launch of Claude Duet may be partly defensive, giving Claude Pro and Max users a way to hand off more of their daily tasks without switching to a rival’s assistant. — Wen Shao, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026