: 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 27 launch failed shortly after liftoff, while the unnamed rocket was still in first stage flight over the Yellow Sea.
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Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 June 2024
Enjoy the feeling of collective liftoff, because all of your preliminary effort is finally paying off.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2024
The third flight test was the most successful to date, with the first two Starship launches ending with fiery explosions shortly after liftoff.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 6 June 2024
Advertisement The last scheduled launch of the CST-100 Starliner, which is years behind SpaceX in servicing the space station, was halted Saturday less than four minutes before liftoff by the ground computer that controls the final steps of the process.
—Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff 
Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 June 2024
Enjoy the feeling of collective liftoff, because all of your preliminary effort is finally paying off.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2024
The third flight test was the most successful to date, with the first two Starship launches ending with fiery explosions shortly after liftoff.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 6 June 2024
Advertisement The last scheduled launch of the CST-100 Starliner, which is years behind SpaceX in servicing the space station, was halted Saturday less than four minutes before liftoff by the ground computer that controls the final steps of the process.
—Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liftoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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