: 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, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2024
The Starlink 6-76 mission is scheduled for liftoff tonight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 10:35 p.m. EST (0335 UTC, November 26), following a day already filled with Falcon 9 rocket milestones.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
Accelerated to nearly three times the speed of sound, the crew capsule was released to fly on its own about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024
But the liftoff, when all 33 of Super Heavy’s engines fired, wasn’t even the loudest moment—sound peaked about 6.5 minutes after launch, when the booster returned to its launch tower and caused a sonic boom.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2024
The Starlink 6-76 mission is scheduled for liftoff tonight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 10:35 p.m. EST (0335 UTC, November 26), following a day already filled with Falcon 9 rocket milestones.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
Accelerated to nearly three times the speed of sound, the crew capsule was released to fly on its own about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024
But the liftoff, when all 33 of Super Heavy’s engines fired, wasn’t even the loudest moment—sound peaked about 6.5 minutes after launch, when the booster returned to its launch tower and caused a sonic boom.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for liftoff
Articles Related to liftoff
Dictionary Entries Near liftoff
Cite this Entry
“Liftoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liftoff. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share