Library / English Dictionary

LAUNCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of propelling with force

Synonyms:

launch; launching

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("launch" is a kind of...):

actuation; propulsion (the act of propelling)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "launch"):

rocket firing; rocket launching (the launching of a rocket or missile under its own power)

Derivation:

launch (propel with force)

launch (launch for the first time; launch on a maiden voyage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A motorboat with an open deck or a half deck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("launch" is a kind of...):

motorboat; powerboat (a boat propelled by an internal-combustion engine)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Begin with vigor

Example:

She plunged into a dangerous adventure

Synonyms:

launch; plunge

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

begin; commence; get; get down; set about; set out; start; start out (take the first step or steps in carrying out an action)

Verb group:

plunge (dash violently or with great speed or impetuosity)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Smoothen the surface of

Example:

launch plaster

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

smooth; smoothen (make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Propel with force

Example:

Launch a ship

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

impel; propel (cause to move forward with force)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "launch"):

float (put into the water)

blast off (launch with great force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

launch (the act of propelling with force)

launcher (a device that launches aircraft from a warship)

launcher (armament in the form of a device capable of launching a rocket)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Get going; give impetus to

Example:

Her actions set in motion a complicated judicial process

Synonyms:

launch; set in motion

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "launch"):

launch (launch for the first time; launch on a maiden voyage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Launch for the first time; launch on a maiden voyage

Example:

launch a ship

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

launch; set in motion (get going; give impetus to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

launch (the act of propelling with force)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Set up or found

Example:

She set up a literacy program

Synonyms:

establish; found; launch; set up

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "launch" is one way to...):

open; open up (start to operate or function or cause to start operating or functioning)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

Previously, scientists had found that laboratory mice lacking functional MDA5 could not detect genetic material from several viruses, making them unable to launch appropriate immune responses against them.

(Scientists discover rare genetic susceptibility to common cold, National Institutes of Health)

Now and again I stumbled, and it was then that Silver plucked so roughly at the rope and launched at me his murderous glances.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The findings are good news for the Europa Clipper mission, which may launch as early as June 2022.

(Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes, NASA)

What a launch in life I think it now, on looking back, to be so mean and servile to a man of such parts and pretensions!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But gods are accustomed to being obeyed, and Grey Beaver wrathfully launched a canoe in pursuit.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

βGBP is also thought to make the tumor more visible to the immune system, which then launches an anti-cancer response to prevent it returning.

(Molecule in Immune System Able to Trigger 'Suicide' of Cancerous Tumors, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Since the launch of NASA’s Disk Detective website in January 2014, approximately 30,000 citizen scientists have performed roughly two million classifications of stellar objects, including those that led to this discovery.

(A Potential New Hunting Ground for Exoplanets, NASA)

About 55 minutes after launch, the asteroid sampling spacecraft separated from the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fueled second stage rocket to fly free.

(Evening Launch Catapults OSIRIS-REx Toward Asteroid Encounter, NASA)

In 2003, NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) launched the ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) consortium to catalog these functional elements in the human genome.

(Expanding Our Understanding of Genomics, NIH)

Includes 2253 submissions, requests for advisory on launch materials, requests for advisory on non-launch materials, pre-submission of promotional materials for accelerated approval products, and materials submitted pursuant to 503B.

(Original Regulatory Submission, Food and Drug Administration)