blast off

Idioms  

1. Also, blast away . Take off or be launched, especially into space, as in They're scheduled to blast off on Tuesday . This usage originated with the development of powerful rockets, spacecraft, and astronauts, to all of which it was applied. [c. 1950]

2. Depart, clear out, as in This party's over; let's blast off now . [ Slang ; early 1950s]

3. Become excited or high, especially from using drugs, as in They give parties where people blast off . [ Slang ; c. 1960]

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Example Sentences

China, after all, is scheduled to put men on the moon by 2030, though not before Artemis III and IV blast off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

When Adenot saw Haignere's mission blast off, she was 14 years old.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

The US space agency wants the rocket to blast off before the end of April.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

When it gets too exciting, stars can blast off violent storms, where they push hot, soup-like plasma into space.

From Space Scoop • Nov. 28, 2025

We’d huddle together in a shuttle constructed out of chairs and bedsheets, and in T minus ten we’d blast off into space, visit the moon, Mars, the asteroid belt and beyond.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas