as in airports
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 launchpads
Once reliable job launchpads in gateway fields such as finance, consulting, and journalism now routinely demand two or more years of prior experience.
—
Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Or the way Karl Lagerfeld turned Grand Palais into supermarkets, icebergs, and rocket launchpads.
—Karissa Mitchell, Essence, 17 Aug. 2025
Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Or the way Karl Lagerfeld turned Grand Palais into supermarkets, icebergs, and rocket launchpads.
—Karissa Mitchell, Essence, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for launchpads
Noun
-
The confirmation of drones over Germany comes as NATO's Denmark investigates a wave of drone disruption to its airports that officials have characterized as a hybrid attack, and coincides with Estonian, Polish, and Romanian accusations against Russia of serious airspace incursions.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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Norway, Denmark and Germany have also reported incidents involving unidentified drones in their airspace in last week, causing disruption to airports and air traffic.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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One of the leaders in the field, ICON, is working with NASA on Project Olympus, a construction system designed to 3D print infrastructure (like habitats, landing pads, and roads) on the Moon using local regolith (lunar soil).—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
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The pads began crashing violently, and a familiar soundtrack followed.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The chief of Ukraine's SBU security agency, Vasyl Maliuk, later said 150 combat first person-view drones were used in Operation Spiderweb, smuggled over the border and placed close to the airfields.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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In June, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged dozens of Russian aircraft using small drones that were smuggled to the vicinity of Russian military airfields in trucks.—
Svitlana Vlasova,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Launchpads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/launchpads. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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