liftoff
Americannoun
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liftoffs
plural
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Aeronautics, Rocketry.
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the action of an aircraft in becoming airborne or of a rocket in rising from its launching site under its own power.
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the instant when such action occurs.
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Informal. the launching or commencement of a project, plan, etc..
The liftoff of the sales campaign will be next month.
adjective
noun
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the initial movement or ascent of a rocket from its launch pad
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the instant at which this occurs
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of liftoff
First recorded in 1955–60; noun and adjective use of verb phrase lift off
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.
See Examples For:
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now one major step closer to liftoff.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
His film is likable as heck but never quite achieves liftoff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
SpaceX had scheduled the test flight to happen last week, but it was scrubbed shortly before liftoff after problems with the booster engines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Wagner is confident that geothermal energy has now achieved liftoff, and will only get better and cheaper over time.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Annabelle closes her eyes and feels the liftoff.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Its built-in solid propellant makes launches harder to detect than liquid-fueled missiles, which must be fueled for liftoffs.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Security Council resolutions prohibit any satellite liftoffs by North Korea, viewing them as covers for testing its long-range missile technology.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
It was a thing of teeth-rattling liftoffs and bone-thumping landings and a dependence on fire—fire!, the fuel of the primitives—to get anywhere at all.
From Time ● Feb. 27, 2015
The engaging Gomez’s liftoffs occur courtesy of ZFX’s flying effects.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2014
Besides bone-rattling liftoffs and astronauts goofing around in the space shuttle, the film features trips through the Hubble images themselves.
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2010
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.
