launch pad
Americannoun
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the platform on which a missile or launch vehicle undergoes final prelaunch checkout and countdown and from which it is launched from the surface of the earth.
-
something that serves to launch or initiate.
He used his legal experience as a launch pad for his career in politics.
noun
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a platform from which a spacecraft, rocket, etc, is launched
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an effective starting point for a career, enterprise, or campaign
Etymology
Origin of launch pad
First recorded in 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Traveling at a top speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler moved the massive Moon rocket steadily toward the launch pad.
From Science Daily • Jan. 19, 2026
Last year, it also completed a record 21 launches of its Electron vehicle, which serves the small satellite market, and opened a new launch pad.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 15, 2026
A 74-run partnership with Nilakshika de Silva gave Sri Lanka a solid launch pad, before another collapse saw six wickets fall for 28 run.
From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025
The New Shepard rocket is designed to be fully reusable and its booster returns to the launch pad for vertical landings after each flight, reducing overall costs.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025
In reality it lifted just three feet off the launch pad before it burst into flames.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
