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
Nasa's mega rocket has been moved to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the final preparations get underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.
From BBC • Jan. 17, 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
When everything looked O.K., the clamps holding us to the launch pad were released, and we were on our way.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
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.
