: a vertical takeoff by an aircraft or a rocket vehicle or missile
Examples of liftoff in a Sentence
a series of successful liftoffs
Thousand of spectators gathered to watch the liftoff of the space shuttle.
Recent Examples on the Web
On Tuesday, the nation marks the 39th anniversary of the explosion that destroyed Challenger 73 seconds after liftoff after a failure in the shuttle’s right solid rocket booster.
—
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2025
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will carry the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about 64 minutes after liftoff.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 24 Jan. 2025
Starship Suspended: The F.A.A. began an investigation of a SpaceX test flight explosion that rained debris over the Caribbean, and suspended additional liftoffs by Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built.
—Katrin Bennhold, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The test began with a successful liftoff at 4:37 p.m. CT on January 16.
—Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
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Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2025
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will carry the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about 64 minutes after liftoff.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 24 Jan. 2025
Starship Suspended: The F.A.A. began an investigation of a SpaceX test flight explosion that rained debris over the Caribbean, and suspended additional liftoffs by Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built.
—Katrin Bennhold, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The test began with a successful liftoff at 4:37 p.m. CT on January 16.
—Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for liftoff
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Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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