as in pad
an area from which a rocket is launched
—often used figuratively
The TV cameras were focused on the launchpad as the time for liftoff approached. The program she hosted on local radio was the launchpad for her network career.
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Recent Examples of launchpad
Star Search originally ran from 1983 to 1995, and was a launchpad for soon-to-be-superstars like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Dave Chappelle, Rosie O'Donnell, Adam Sandler and many more.
—
Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
College graduates earn significantly higher lifetime incomes, have access to better healthcare, and are far more likely to achieve upward social mobility — because their degrees serve as proxies for experience and are favored by employers, these credentials are career launchpads.
—CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
April through October, Friday and Saturday nights are filled with live bluegrass music at the Historic Courthouse Square, a great launchpad for exploring downtown’s antique stores and music shops.
—Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 19 Jan. 2026
Located in the hip River North Art District (RiNo), the industrial-chic property is an ideal launchpad to explore the former manufacturing district.
—Amiee White Beazley, Travel + Leisure, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for launchpad
Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
College graduates earn significantly higher lifetime incomes, have access to better healthcare, and are far more likely to achieve upward social mobility — because their degrees serve as proxies for experience and are favored by employers, these credentials are career launchpads.
—CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
April through October, Friday and Saturday nights are filled with live bluegrass music at the Historic Courthouse Square, a great launchpad for exploring downtown’s antique stores and music shops.
—Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 19 Jan. 2026
Located in the hip River North Art District (RiNo), the industrial-chic property is an ideal launchpad to explore the former manufacturing district.
—Amiee White Beazley, Travel + Leisure, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for launchpad
Recent Examples of Synonyms for launchpad
Noun
-
Once the pads came on, Suamataia took virtually every first-team rep at left tackle.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Even one of the greatest ever to play this game, Joe Root, could not work out how to break free of the 36-year-old’s shackles here, failing to score a single run off him for 23 balls in a row before finally yielding to the python-like grip when missing one that homed in on his pads.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Nonstop flights from Newark and Miami have made Dominica far easier to reach, and momentum is building ahead of a new international airport scheduled to open in 2027.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Tens of thousands of Minnesotans are protesting peacefully downtown and at the airport.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The two-person crew of a NASA plane is safe after the aircraft’s landing gear failed, leading to a fiery belly landing at a Houston airfield on Tuesday.—
David Matthews,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Chicago’s largest airport overtook Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson to become the busiest airfield in the country last year, according to preliminary federal data.—
Talia Soglin,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Ukraine begged former President Joe Biden and German leaders to no avail to provide long-range missiles that could hit distant Russian aerodromes and eliminate strategic bombers at the source.—
Trudy Rubin,
Twin Cities,
8 June 2025
-
Ukraine begged former President Joe Biden and German leaders to no avail to provide long range missiles that could hit distant Russian aerodromes and eliminate strategic bombers at the source.—
Trudy Rubin,
Mercury News,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Launchpad.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/launchpad. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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