: 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
The May 6 attempt was scrubbed two hours before liftoff because of valve on ULA’s upper Centaur stage that teams continue to investigate.
—
Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
The first stage is the bottommost portion of the rocket with nine engines that fire up at liftoff, powering the 230-foot (70-meter) vehicle off the ground.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
But Starship's 171-foot-tall (52-meter) upper stage exploded less than 10 minutes after liftoff, raining debris down on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Then, SpaceX will roll the ship to the launch pad, where crews will raise it on top of the Super Heavy booster in the final days before liftoff.
—ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liftoff
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Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
The first stage is the bottommost portion of the rocket with nine engines that fire up at liftoff, powering the 230-foot (70-meter) vehicle off the ground.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
But Starship's 171-foot-tall (52-meter) upper stage exploded less than 10 minutes after liftoff, raining debris down on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Then, SpaceX will roll the ship to the launch pad, where crews will raise it on top of the Super Heavy booster in the final days before liftoff.
—ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liftoff
Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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