This week’s theme
Words from space travel

This week’s words
moon shot
light-year
rocket science
lift-off
space cadet

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(LIFT-of)

MEANING:

noun:
1. The action of being airborne, such as that of a rocket, aircraft, etc.
2. The launch of a project, an initiative, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old Norse lypta, from lopt (air) + off, stressed variant of the word of. Earliest documented use: 1907.

USAGE:

“While those negotiations grind on, some artists have quietly begun to work again. Some are anticipating the lift-off of Brandaid-Haiti, a Canada-based non-profit initiative aimed at reviving market share for Haiti’s arts and crafts industry.”
Jessica Leeder; Jacmel’s Artists Starving for an Audience; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Apr 19, 2010.

See more usage examples of lift-off in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: