liftoff
or lift-off
Aeronautics, Rocketry.
the action of an aircraft in becoming airborne or of a rocket in rising from its launching site under its own power.
the instant when such action occurs.
Informal. the launching or commencement of a project, plan, etc.: The liftoff of the sales campaign will be next month.
able to be shifted or removed by lifting off; capable of being lifted off: I organized the workshop with these liftoff adhesive labels for bins and shelves.We used magnetic liftoff nameplates on the lockers.
Origin of liftoff
1Words Nearby liftoff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use liftoff in a sentence
He personally designed part of the training program, which in part called for flying each crew member in his Soviet MiG-29, exposing them to the kinds of g-forces they’ll experience during liftoff and re-entry.
Four Civilian Astronauts. Three Days in Orbit. One Giant Leap. Meet the Inspiration4 Crew | Jeffrey Kluger | August 10, 2021 | TimeChips got faster, cheaper and more efficient, eventually achieving a kind of social liftoff—powering computers that fit in a pocket.
From Cars to Toasters, America's Semiconductor Shortage Is Wreaking Havoc on Our Lives. Can We Fix It? | Andrew Blum | June 28, 2021 | TimeAftermath of the liftoff of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission taking four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.
NASA gets what it wanted: Independent, reliable access to space | Eric Berger | April 23, 2021 | Ars TechnicaThe liftoff should be thunderous—rattling windows and shaking loose plaster in nearby buildings as the Saturn V once did—and the lunar journeys should be wondrous.
Watch TIME's Exclusive Footage of NASA's Most Powerful Rocket Ever Under Construction | Jeffrey Kluger | April 22, 2021 | TimeSuch an early-afternoon liftoff would give the craft’s solar panel enough time to charge up its batteries for the flight.
Ingenuity helicopter makes history by flying on Mars | Lisa Grossman | April 20, 2021 | Science News For Students
She watched the liftoff from a boat floating down the Banana River near the launch site in Florida.
Moon Men: The Private Lives of Neil Armstrong and Pals in “Togethersville” | Lily Koppel | September 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTEvery joke was tweaked and reworked multiple times to achieve maximum comic liftoff.
Could Judd Apatow and Kristen Wiig’s ‘Bridesmaids’ Nab an Oscar? | Chris Lee | December 13, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTThey tell Sandra McElwaine about their orbital road trip ahead of Scott's liftoff this week.
British Dictionary definitions for liftoff
/ (ˈlɪftˌɒf) /
the initial movement or ascent of a rocket from its launch pad
the instant at which this occurs
(intr, adverb) (of a rocket) to leave its launch pad
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with liftoff
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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