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.
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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.
“They say in the industry destroying a launch pad is the second-worst thing that can happen,” Keeton said, “with the first being loss of a crew.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
After launch, engineers carried out a thorough review of the launch pad and mobile launcher systems.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
Instead, you’re meant to feel like you’re standing on a launch pad outside.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
At the moment of liftoff, Catherine was with her children and the other astronauts' families near the launch pad in Florida.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
As we get closer, instead of the cement commercial launch pad I expect, there’s just freshly cut grass.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
