launch
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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launches,
present (3rd person singular)
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launched,
past participle, past
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launching
present participle
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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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launches,
present (3rd person singular)
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launched,
past participle, past
-
launching
present participle
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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
-
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
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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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:
He lifted Marlins starter Eury Pérez’s fastball at a 39-degree launch angle, according to Statcast, 108.2 mph off the bat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Simmering worries that the technology could wipe out civilization and launch cyberattacks reached a boil inside the office and around the dinner table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Indeed, today is the exciting launch of Surge 2.0.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2026
It will be made available starting in December to adult creators in the United States, then rolled out internationally in 2027, alongside the launch of an associated payment card.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
After a final day of preparation, the two cosmonauts had come back to their cottage by the launch pad ready to rest.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Earnings visibility should improve as 79% of the order book remains at an early execution stage, while Vietnam property launches are expected to support FY2027 sales, he reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Calm will be a part of MS NOW’s new direct-to-consumer product that launches Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
SaxaVord is the UK's first fully-licensed spaceport and has regulatory approval for up to 30 rocket launches a year.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
From April: Moon launches are having a moment.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
But as soon as she leaves, Nick launches right in.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Ukraine's air space has been closed since Russia launched its invasion.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
A new ticket registration process, similar to that used for Glastonbury Festival, has been launched in a bid to avoid the noise and confusion of last time around.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
But they found a way out and launched sophisticated cyberattacks at breakneck speeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The line was attacked across both the Riyadh and Madinah regions from drones launched from Iraq, creating more operational challenges versus an isolated strike, Shah said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Eisman launched a ruthlessly reasonable dissection of the U.S. financial system.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
On Monday, the charity is launching a new club in Ivybridge.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
One of these new entrants is Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which said it was launching a new regional headquarter in South Florida to focus on defense investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
SpaceX went public in June and raised nearly $86 billion before launching a $25 billion bond offering just a few weeks later.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
The engineers from Sensat also built their first satellite -- Gaindesat-1A -- in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, launching it in 2024.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Cuba could provide him with a convenient launching pad for his missiles.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
