launch.
To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force.
Meaning & usage
To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force.
To pierce with, or as with, a lance.
To cause (a vessel) to move or slide from the land or a larger vessel into the water; to set afloat.
The navy launched another ship.
To cause (a rocket, balloon, etc., or the payload thereof) to begin its flight upward from the ground.
NASA launched several unmanned rockets before launching any of the Mercury astronauts.
To send out; to start (someone) on a mission or project; to give a start to (something); to put in operation
Our business launched a new project.
To start (a program or feature); to execute or bring into operation.
Double-click an icon to launch the associated application.
To release; to put onto the market for sale
Of a ship, rocket, balloon, etc.: to depart on a voyage; to take off.
To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to begin.
to launch into an argument or discussion
to launch into lavish expenditures
To start to operate.
After clicking the icon, the application will launch.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English launchen (“to throw as a lance”), Old French lanchier, another form (Old Northern French/Norman variant, compare Jèrriais lanchi) of lancier, French lancer, from lance.
The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built. (Compare: to splash a ship.)
The act or fact of launching (a ship/vessel, a project, a new book, etc.).
An event held to celebrate the launch of a ship/vessel, project, a new book, etc.; a launch party.
product launch
book launch
Where this word comes from
From Middle English launchen (“to throw as a lance”), Old French lanchier, another form (Old Northern French/Norman variant, compare Jèrriais lanchi) of lancier, French lancer, from lance.
The boat of the largest size and/or of most importance belonging to a ship of war, and often called the "captain's boat" or "captain's launch".
A boat used to convey guests to and from a yacht.
An open boat of any size powered by steam, petrol, electricity, etc.
Where this word comes from
From Portuguese lancha (“barge, launch”), apparently from Malay lancar (“quick, agile”). Spelling influenced by the verb above.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.