lift off

Idioms  

1. Begin flight, as in The spacecraft was due to lift off at ten o'clock. The off in this idiom means “off the ground.” [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lift off

It would be the second flight of its SR75 suborbital launch vehicle following a successful "lift off" in Australia.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The rescue spacecraft developed by the US startup Katalyst is slated to lift off Tuesday at 1023 GMT from a Pacific Ocean atoll aboard a small rocket named Pegasus.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

As the ice thinned, this smooth foundation allowed large sections to lift off the ground and float, triggering an unusual and sudden calving event.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026

SpaceX has been advancing the vehicle through test missions that lift off from its complex outside Brownsville, Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

Then I grab the next buoy, pull on the line until I feel the trap lift off the bottom.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick