launch

¹

[lawnch, lahnch]

verb (used with object)

1. to set (a boat or ship) in the water.

2. to float (a newly constructed boat or ship) usually by allowing to slide down inclined ways into the water.

3. to send forth, catapult, or release, as a self-propelled vehicle or weapon.

   Rockets were launched midway in the battle.

   The submarine launched its torpedoes and dived rapidly.

4. to start (a person) on a course, career, etc.

5. to set going; initiate.

   to launch a scheme.

   Synonyms: institute, inaugurate

6. to throw; hurl.

   to launch a spear.

7. to start (a new venture) or promote (a new product).

   They launched a new breakfast cereal.

8. Computers.,  to start (a software program).

verb (used without object)

1. to burst out or plunge boldly or directly into action, speech, etc.

2. to start out or forth; push out or put forth on the water.

noun

1. the act of launching.

launch

²

[lawnch, lahnch]

noun

1. a heavy open or half-decked boat propelled by oars or by an engine.

2. a large utility boat carried by a warship.

launch

¹

/ lɔːntʃ /

verb

1. to move (a vessel) into the water

2. to move (a newly built vessel) into the water for the first time

3. (tr)

   1. to start off or set in motion

      to launch a scheme

   2. to put (a new product) on the market

4. (tr) to propel with force

5. to involve (oneself) totally and enthusiastically

   to launch oneself into work

6. (tr) to set (a missile, spacecraft, etc) into motion

7. (tr) to catapult (an aircraft), as from the deck of an aircraft carrier

8. to start talking or writing (about)

   he launched into a story

9. to start (out) on a fresh course

10. informal,  to spend a lot of money

noun

1. an act or instance of launching

launch

²

/ lɔːntʃ /

noun

1. a motor driven boat used chiefly as a transport boat

2. the largest of the boats of a man-of-war

Other Word Forms

• launchable adjective
• unlaunched adjective
• well-launched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of launch¹

First recorded in 1300–50; late Middle English launche, from Anglo-French lancher, from Late Latin lanceāre “to wield a lance”; lance ¹

Origin of launch²

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Spanish, Portuguese lancha, earlier Portuguese lanchara, first attested in 1515 in an account of boats encountered near the Strait of Malacca; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Malay lancharan, derivative of lanchar “swift,” unless modern Malay lancha is from Portuguese

Word History and Origins

Origin of launch¹

C14: from Anglo-French lancher, from Late Latin lanceāre to use a lance, hence, to set in motion. See _lance

Origin of launch²

C17: via Spanish lancha and Portuguese from Malay lancharan boat, from lanchar speed

Example Sentences

The row over the membership portal has revealed deep splits in the fledgling party, which was launched in July and is due to hold its founding conference in November.

From BBC

A launch of its Lanyue lander, equipped to carry two taikonauts to the lunar surface, “validated” its landing and takeoff system, state media reported.

From Los Angeles Times

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

From BBC

Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the Times that he took the security of the house "incredibly seriously" and was considering launching a private action against the pair.

From BBC

In a statement on Thursday, Sultana said she had launched a membership portal to allow supporters to "continue to engage and organise".

From BBC

Related Words

• commence 
• inaugurate 
• institute 
• introduce 
• open 
• start 

When To Use

Where does launch come from?

Rocket ships and medieval knights wouldn’t seem like they have a lot in common. We launch rocket ships into outer space—something those old knights, trotting around on horseback and wielding their lances, could hardly have ever imagined.Launch entered English around 1300–50. Back then, launch meant “to rush, spring (into motion), send forth, hurl (a weapon).” Launch comes from French, which in turn comes from Late Latin lanceāre, “to wield a lance.” This verb, lanceāre, is based on the Latin noun lancea, “lance, spear.” The Latin lancea may ultimately come from an ancient Celtic word.As you’ve probably guessed, the Latin lancea is the ultimate source of the English lance, originally “a long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging.” Slightly older than the verb launch, lance entered English around 1250–1300.Now, the Late Latin verb lanceāre also yields (through French) the English verb lance. Today, that verb is mainly used for actions of piercing and making incisions—much finer and more careful cuts, thankfully, than resulted from a knight’s lance. But in the early 1300s, lance was effectively a synonym for launch, also meaning “to throw or hurl.”Dig deeperWhen did we start saying we launched such things as boats? That sense of launch is so far first evidenced, as it happens, during the heydey of knights launching lances. This sense of launch, meaning “to a set (a boat or ship) in the water,” is recorded in the Alliterative Morte Arthure, a remarkable poem about that legendary leader of knights, King Arthur, dated to around 1400.The basic, underlying sense of launch (“to send forth”) has inspired many other metaphorical extensions, from launching careers and launching products to book launches, campaign launches, and, by the time we entered the Space Age, rocket launches.