as in airports
an area from which a rocket is launched
—often used figuratively
The TV cameras were focused on the launchpad as the time for liftoff approached. The program she hosted on local radio was the launchpad for her network career.
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Recent Examples of launchpads
College graduates earn significantly higher lifetime incomes, have access to better healthcare, and are far more likely to achieve upward social mobility — because their degrees serve as proxies for experience and are favored by employers, these credentials are career launchpads.
—
CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
The majority of the biggest rounds across the sector have been for startups based in those two countries, with both emerging as key launchpads into new markets and battlefield training.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2025
Once reliable job launchpads in gateway fields such as finance, consulting, and journalism now routinely demand two or more years of prior experience.
—Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Or the way Karl Lagerfeld turned Grand Palais into supermarkets, icebergs, and rocket launchpads.
—Karissa Mitchell, Essence, 17 Aug. 2025
CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
The majority of the biggest rounds across the sector have been for startups based in those two countries, with both emerging as key launchpads into new markets and battlefield training.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2025
Once reliable job launchpads in gateway fields such as finance, consulting, and journalism now routinely demand two or more years of prior experience.
—Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Or the way Karl Lagerfeld turned Grand Palais into supermarkets, icebergs, and rocket launchpads.
—Karissa Mitchell, Essence, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for launchpads
Noun
-
That led to more Transportation Security Administration agents calling out from work, causing frustrating security lines at some of the nation's biggest airports.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Due to long wait times, people began arriving at airports extremely early to try to make their flights on time, sometimes waiting in lines for multiple hours.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The first week of spring practice has come and gone for coach Tim Albin and the Charlotte 49ers, who put on pads for the first time Saturday morning.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Sleeping bags were permitted, but not pillows or pads.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
China’s coast opposite Taiwan is lined with ports, airfields, missile bases, rail lines, shipyards and factories.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Out in the middle of current-day Edwards Air Force Base — one of the largest airfields in the world, at some 480 square miles — a small team began the X-plane program, a series of experimental aircraft designed to travel faster, higher and (purposefully) more awkwardly than ever before.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Launchpads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/launchpads. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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