: 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 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
But no such trouble was expected and a thruster firing 31 minutes after liftoff was planned to put the ship in orbit.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 5 June 2024
On Saturday, June 1, the spacecraft was less than four minutes away from liftoff when the ground launch sequencer — the computer that launches the rocket — triggered an automatic hold.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 5 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for 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
But no such trouble was expected and a thruster firing 31 minutes after liftoff was planned to put the ship in orbit.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 5 June 2024
On Saturday, June 1, the spacecraft was less than four minutes away from liftoff when the ground launch sequencer — the computer that launches the rocket — triggered an automatic hold.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 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 12 Jun. 2024.
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liftoff
noun
lift·off
ˈlif-ˌtȯf 
: a vertical takeoff (as by a rocket)
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