launch
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to set (a boat or ship) in the water.
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to float (a newly constructed boat or ship) usually by allowing to slide down inclined ways into the water.
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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.
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to start (a person) on a course, career, etc.
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to set going; initiate.
to launch a scheme.
- Synonyms:
- institute, inaugurate
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to launch a spear.
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to start (a new venture) or promote (a new product).
They launched a new breakfast cereal.
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Computers. to start (a software program).
verb (used without object)
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to burst out or plunge boldly or directly into action, speech, etc.
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to start out or forth; push out or put forth on the water.
noun
noun
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a heavy open or half-decked boat propelled by oars or by an engine.
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a large utility boat carried by a warship.
verb
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to move (a vessel) into the water
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to move (a newly built vessel) into the water for the first time
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(tr)
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to start off or set in motion
to launch a scheme
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to put (a new product) on the market
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(tr) to propel with force
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to involve (oneself) totally and enthusiastically
to launch oneself into work
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(tr) to set (a missile, spacecraft, etc) into motion
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(tr) to catapult (an aircraft), as from the deck of an aircraft carrier
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to start talking or writing (about)
he launched into a story
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to start (out) on a fresh course
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informal to spend a lot of money
noun
noun
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a motor driven boat used chiefly as a transport boat
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the largest of the boats of a man-of-war
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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launchsimple
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launchessimple
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have launchedperfect
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has launchedperfect
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am launchingprogressive
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are launchingprogressive
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is launchingprogressive
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have been launchingperfect progressive
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has been launchingperfect progressive
Past
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launchedsimple
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had launchedperfect
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was launchingprogressive
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were launchingprogressive
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had been launchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of launch1
First recorded in 1300–50; late Middle English launche, from Anglo-French lancher, from Late Latin lanceāre “to wield a lance”; see 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
Explanation
To launch something is to propel it or get it going, usually from a standing position. You can launch a rocket, a career, a product or even a watermelon. Either way, you're getting it off the ground. Launch often means to start something, but to start it in a big way: "The launch of the shuttle was also the launch of a new era in space travel." Time was, when a singer finished making her record, the company would simply "release it." Eventually, though, that wasn't enough. Now a record needs "a launch" — a full-scale media blitz to get people excited enough to buy it.
Vocabulary lists containing launch
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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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.
See Examples For:
In February, Henkel announced the launch of the first cold seal solution that works with barrier coated paper, which is both recyclable and suitable for food products.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
SpaceX pulled off its latest Starship flight test to a near-perfect degree, in the words of one analyst — but the successful launch wasn’t enough to reverse the stock’s steady decline.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
After a recent rebranding, the Phoenix school Tyson helped launch is now simply called ELEV8.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
The latest launch for the experimental rocket is the first since Elon Musk’s rocket company went public in a historic IPO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
They bulldozed the launch pads, drove the missiles to ports, loaded them onto ships, and sailed for home.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Tiny funds tend not to last long so the wave of launches this year and next is almost guaranteed to bring hundreds of closures that can blindside unsuspecting owners with tax bills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
After Blue Origin completes its rendezvous and docking tests, and after the Artemis III crew launches aboard SLS, SpaceX will send its Starship test article into orbit.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
This week’s Amicus also launches their first installment of By the People, in which Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern explore how and when the idea of judicial supremacy took over.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
He says Skyroot aims to cut long waits for satellite launches by offering dedicated missions for small payloads.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
But before the tune launches into full volume, let me fill you in on what has happened these last eleven years.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The scheme launched in October to improve access and save women from having to book a GP or sexual health clinic appointment.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The movement has won millions of followers on social media since it was launched in May by 30-year-old public relations graduate Abhijeet Dipke.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
On Friday, Elon Musk’s space-technology company launched its megarocket for the 13th time, after a handful of delays had pushed the mission back by about a week.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Peacock, which launched in 2020, grew its paid subscribers by 4% to 48 million in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“She not only recruited the first Black American to be launched into space, Guion Bluford Jr., but also Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut.”
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The Independent fills its front page with a photo of Prime Minister Andy Burnham launching the new No 10 North in Manchester alongside Chancellor John Healey and first secretary of state Louise Haigh.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Moonshot had to pause sign-ups for premium services just two days after launching K3 because it didn’t have enough computing capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The lunar lander will be placed in orbit first, where it will wait for the astronauts arriving aboard Orion after launching on SLS.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
The park appears to be exploring other more affordable options, recently launching $59 single-day tickets for access to the park on summer nights after dark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
And then he asks me if I’d like to perform on a new singing program he’s launching in a few weeks.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne 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.
