launch pad

or launch·pad

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR launch pad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

Origin of launch pad

First recorded in 1955–60

Also called launching pad, pad.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for launch pad

launch pad

launching pad

noun

a platform from which a spacecraft, rocket, etc, is launched

an effective starting point for a career, enterprise, or campaign

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