to send a rocket, spacecraft, or missile up into the air or into space
Crowds at the seaside observatory gasped as the agency launched its newest weather satellite into the twilight sky.
In the classroom video, scientists carefully counted down before launching a probe toward Mars.
✦ Middle English "launchen" meaning "to hurl" or "to throw", from Old French "lancier".
to start selling, showing, or offering a new product, service, or publication to the public
The tech company will launch its latest smartphone next Tuesday.
Our bakery launched a gluten-free range to meet customer demand.
✦ Sense of “bring to market” dates from the mid-19th century, extending the idea of ‘sending forth’.
the act of sending a rocket, spacecraft, or missile into the air or space
Millions watched the live broadcast of the rocket launch from their homes.
Bad weather forced officials to postpone the launch by twenty-four hours.
✦ Noun sense recorded in the early 20th century, shortly before early rocketry experiments.
a planned event at which a new product, book, or service is officially introduced
The fashion designer held a glamorous launch for her new clothing line.
Tickets to the video-game launch sold out in minutes.
✦ Business sense evolved in the early 20th century from the idea of ‘setting something afloat’ to ‘introducing to the public’.
to begin or set in motion an important plan, campaign, or activity
The mayor launched a major clean-up campaign to reduce plastic waste in the city.
Scientists recently launched a global study on climate-change impacts.
✦ Developed figuratively from the nautical sense of ‘put a boat to sea’, meaning ‘set something going’.
to move a boat from land into the water so that it starts floating
With a final push the sailors launched the lifeboat into the choppy sea.
Visitors gathered to watch the shipyard workers launch the newly built fishing vessel.
✦ Old French “lancier” meaning “to throw” influenced the nautical sense in the 14th century.
a large motorboat used to carry passengers or goods for short distances, especially on rivers or around harbors
We hired a launch to take us across the lake to the castle.
The harbor police patrol the bay in a fast blue launch.
✦ From the earlier verb sense “to put a boat to water”; by the 17th century it became a noun for the boat itself.
