launch pad
Americannoun
-
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
-
a platform from which a spacecraft, rocket, etc, is launched
-
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.
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
In that case, parents should think of their 2025 income-tax return as the launch pad.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 28, 2026
Korolev walked alongside the train tracks as the flatcar moved slowly, gently, from the hangar to the launch pad.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
