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launch

 - 8 dictionary results

launch

1  [lawnch, lahnch]
Use launch in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to set (a boat or ship) in the water.
2. to float (a newly constructed boat or ship) usually by allowing to slide down inclined ways into the water.
3. to send forth, catapult, or release, as a self-propelled vehicle or weapon: Rockets were launched midway in the battle. The submarine launched its torpedoes and dived rapidly.
4. to start (a person) on a course, career, etc.
5. to set going; initiate: to launch a scheme.
6. to throw; hurl: to launch a spear.
7. to start (a new venture) or promote (a new product): They launched a new breakfast cereal.
8. Computers. to start (a software program).
–verb (used without object)
9. to burst out or plunge boldly or directly into action, speech, etc.
10. to start out or forth; push out or put forth on the water.
–noun
11. the act of launching.
Origin:
1300–50; late ME launche < AF lancher < LL lanceāre to wield a lance; see lance 1

Related forms:
launch⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
5. inaugurate, institute.

launch

2  [lawnch, lahnch]
–noun
1. a heavy open or half-decked boat propelled by oars or by an engine.
2. a large utility boat carried by a warship.
Origin:
1690–1700; < Sp, Pg lancha, earlier Pg lanchara, first attested in 1515 in an account of boats encountered near the Strait of Malacca; of unclear orig.; neither Malay lancar “swift” nor Rom outcomes of LL lanceāre (see launch 1 ) are fully convincing as sources; mod. Malay lanca is < Pg
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To launch
launch 1   (lônch, länch)   
v.   launched, launch·ing, launch·es

v.   tr.

    1. To throw or propel with force; hurl: launch a spear.

    2. To set or thrust (a self-propelled craft or projectile) in motion: launch a rocket; launch a torpedo.

  2. Nautical To put (a boat) into the water in readiness for use.

  3. To set going; initiate: launch a career; launch a business venture.

  4. To introduce to the public or to a market: launched the new perfume with prime-time commercials on the major networks.

  5. To give (someone) a start, as in a career or vocation.

v.   intr.

  1. To begin a new venture or phase; embark: launch forth on a dangerous mission; launched out on her own after college.

  2. To enter enthusiastically into something; plunge: launched into a description of the movie.

n.  The act of launching.

[Middle English launchen, from Old North French lancher, from Latin lanceāre, to wield a lance, from lancea, lance; see lance.]
launch 2   (lônch, länch)   
n.  

  1. A large ship's boat.

  2. A large, open motorboat.


[Probably alteration (probably influenced by launch1) of Malay lancha.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
launch (one's lunch)

  1. tv. & in.
    to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : When I saw that mess, I almost launched my lunch.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

launch  (v.)
c.1300, from O.N.Fr. lancher (O.Fr. lancier) "to fling, hurl, throw, cast," from L.L. lanceare "wield a lance," from L. lancea "light spear" (see lance). Sense of "set (a boat) afloat" first recorded c.1400, from notion of throwing it out on the water; generalized by 1600 to "any sort of beginning."

launch  (n.)
"large boat carried on a warship," 1697, from Port. lancha "barge, launch," apparently from Malay lancharan, from lanchar "quick, agile;" Eng. spelling infl. by launch (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

launch

largest of a ship's boats, at one time sloop-rigged and often armed, such as those used in the Mediterranean Sea during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although present-day launches can travel under sail or by oar, most are power-driven. Because of their weight, they are seldom used by merchant ships but are often deployed as armed craft from warships. Launches are capable of carrying large numbers of men and are also useful for transporting anchors, cannons, and other heavy objects.

Learn more about launch with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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