liftoff

or lift-off

[ lift-awf, -of ]
See synonyms for liftoff on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Aeronautics, Rocketry.

    • the action of an aircraft in becoming airborne or of a rocket in rising from its launching site under its own power.

    • the instant when such action occurs.

  2. Informal. the launching or commencement of a project, plan, etc.: The liftoff of the sales campaign will be next month.

adjective
  1. able to be shifted or removed by lifting off; capable of being lifted off: I organized the workshop with these liftoff adhesive labels for bins and shelves.We used magnetic liftoff nameplates on the lockers.

Origin of liftoff

1
First recorded in 1955–60; noun and adjective use of verb phrase lift off

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use liftoff in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for liftoff

liftoff

/ (ˈlɪftˌɒf) /


noun
  1. the initial movement or ascent of a rocket from its launch pad

  2. the instant at which this occurs

verblift off
  1. (intr, adverb) (of a rocket) to leave its launch pad

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with liftoff

liftoff

Begin flight, as in The spacecraft was due to lift off at ten o'clock. The off in this idiom means “off the ground.” [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.