lift off


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lift off

1. To pick someone or something up off a person or surface. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "lift" and "off." Please help me lift this box off the table. The two security guards lifted the guy right off his seat and threw him out the door.
2. Of an aircraft, to achieve or begin flight. The helicopter lifted off, blowing a huge billowing dust cloud into the crowd of spectators.
See also: lift, off

lift something off (of) someone or something

 and lift something off
to raise something and uncover or release someone or something. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) Lift the beam off of him and see if he is still breathing. Please lift off the heavy lid.
See also: lift, off

lift off

[for a plane or rocket] to move upward, leaving the ground. The rocket lifted off exactly on time.
See also: lift, off

lift off

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]
See also: lift, off

lift off

v.
1. To pick something up from some surface: I lifted the lid off the pan to let the heat escape. I unfastened the tarp and lifted it off from the tent.
2. To leave the ground and begin flight: The spacecraft will lift off at noon.
See also: lift, off
References in periodicals archive ?
Programme manager David Hall said: "Our aim with Lift Off is to make funding and help as accessible to businesses like Jet Blades as we can to make the maximum impact across the region.
BUSINESS LIFE: Lift Off puts firm on new flightpath; Investment will help Jet Blades diversify
Jim Coyle, AWM cluster manager, said: "MAS-WM is one of the region's most successful projects and Lift Off has formed a key part of their work with manufacturers involved in the aerospace sector.
A WM backs three more years for jobs initiative
NEW INITIATIVE: David Wright, chief executive of the advisory service for the West Midlands, launches Lift Off, a programme to support the region's aerospace industry
Aero group aims to reach for the sky to keep jobs
The objective of the Lift Off programme is to ensure that the West Midlands maintains a sustainable and world-class aerospace industry, meeting current demands while at the same time preparing to capitalise on the imminent up-turn in the market.
MANUFACTURING : Lift Off for go-getting aerospace company
Spy satellite Ofek 9 has been lift off from Palmachim Air Base where is being in South of Telaviv.
Israel Lifts off Spy Satellite
Lift Off funding will be used to help the company with marketing, financial and business planning, and it is designed to help it seek out new business and much-needed investment.
Manufacturing: Helping aerospace suppliers take off
Caudipteryx This dinosaur was a fast runner, but its feathers couldn't have helped it lift off the ground.
Fossil feud
The wind-tunnel data should reveal how to modify the wings' shape and plane's center of gravity so it can lift off.
The Wright stuff
The first module, a Russian-built power engine called Functional Cargo Block (FGB, from the Russian name), is scheduled to lift off this fail on a Russian rocket.
Space city
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