lift off

Idioms

Begin flight, as in The spacecraft was due to lift off at ten o'clock. The off in this idiom means “off the ground.” [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When a tidewater glacier thins enough, it can lift off the seabed and begin floating on the ocean surface.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

When outages drag on for hours, the back-up batteries don't have time to recharge, forcing Biletsky to cut the lift off to prioritise water pumps.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

The Looney Tunes-themed Tweety’s Escape ride, meanwhile, lets guests climb into individual birdcages that lift off the ground and sway in a circle.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

Satellite images show a common design, with runways exceeding 14,000 feet long to give pilots more room to lift off in high-altitude conditions where the air is thinner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

A chilly breeze picked up around us, and I saw the rest of the mist lift off the water, exposing a familiar shoreline.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023