launch 1 of 2

verb

ˈlȯnch How to pronounce launch (audio)
Definition of launchnext
1
as in to establish
to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of after retiring, he launched a small company devoted to making medical devices

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2
as in to begin
to take the first step in (a process or course of action) she launched a career in journalism after quitting acting school

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3
as in to throw
to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm infantrymen launching grenades at the nest of machine gunners

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launch

2 of 2

noun

1
as in takeoff
a rising from a surface at the start of a flight (as of a rocket) the reporters held their collective breath as they silently watched the space shuttle's launch

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2
as in start
the point at which something begins we are at the launch of a new age of space exploration

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of launch
Verb
For perspective on the enormity of the measure before voters, one of the state’s existing down payment programs, California Dream For All, launched several years ago with $500 million, just 2% of the funding involved in Proposition 37. — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026 Jackson launched his bid as a relative unknown, though Capitol insiders knew him because of Jackson Healthcare, its lucrative state contracts and his lobbying interest in healthcare, business and tax policy. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Noun
This was the 36th launch and landing for B1063, which notably launched NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission in November 2021. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026 Anthropic’s launch of Claude Duet may be partly defensive, giving Claude Pro and Max users a way to hand off more of their daily tasks without switching to a rival’s assistant. — Wen Shao, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for launch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for launch
  1. establish
  2. begin
  3. throw
  4. takeoff
  5. start
  6. initiate
  7. commence
  8. hurl
Verb
  • Around the same time, Congress established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, an administrative body that adjudicates patent disputes.
    — Andrei Iancu, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • During preliminary sea trials, operators aboard the carrier used the ship’s Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC) to establish a beyond-line-of-sight connection with the aircraft through a satellite network.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of establish
Verb
  • By adjusting the distance between the tips, the team could stretch or compress the molecular structure, changing the voltage at which the current enhancement began.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • She eventually was promoted over to the ice cream machine—and began to grow fond of the adrenaline-like rush that can come with working in a restaurant.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of begin
Verb
  • Charlotte also turned the ball over on its first possession of the second half when Naz Reid (a game-high seven turnovers, but also a team-high 17 points) threw it away.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Just over a week before Wicker began filming in Hungary, costume designers András Dániel Tóth and Attila Godena-Juhász, who work together as András + Attila, were thrown one big curveball.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of throw
Noun
  • Such information is important for an eVTOL aircraft, which must manage vertical takeoffs, transitions between flight conditions, and conventional forward flight.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • During the test, the aircraft validated not only the takeoff system, but the ability to maneuver at various altitudes and make in-flight mission adjustments while the systems checked for airworthiness.
    — David Szondy October 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of takeoff
Noun
  • The anticipated early 2028 production start will mark the next stage of the company’s investment in Colorado.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Heat also stuck with essentially the same bench rotation (but with a twist) despite its rough start to the season.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of start
Verb
  • The system monitors equipment conditions, identifies abnormalities, and can initiate automated responses.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • All this, not to mention the famous literary lunches initiated by Christina Foyle in 1930 and a fixture in the literary calendar for eighty years.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of initiate
Verb
  • Or to be up high and see that, down below, a town is just a grid spread out on a map and nothing more, a grid that flickers with lights that spark on as the darkness commences.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The process, in other words, commences with the industrial production of miniature supernovas.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of commence
Verb
  • For over a week, protesters have hurled rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks at police who have used batons and tear gas in clashes in the city center.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Videos show some masked protesters hurling objects at police as the tear gas drifts across the square.
    — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of hurl

Browse Nearby Words

laughters
launch
launched
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Cite this Entry

“Launch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/launch. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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