1. (v. i.) To throw, as a lance or dart; to hurl; to let fly.

2. (v. i.) To strike with, or as with, a lance; to pierce.

3. (v. i.) To cause to move or slide from the land into the water; to set afloat; as, to launch a ship.

4. (v. i.) To send out; to start (one) on a career; to set going; to give a start to (something); to put in operation; as, to launch a son in the world; to launch a business project or enterprise.

5. (v. i.) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to make a beginning; as, to launch into the current of a stream; to launch into an argument or discussion; to launch into lavish expenditures; -- often with out.

6. (n.) The act of launching.

7. (n.) The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built.

8. (n.) The boat of the largest size belonging to a ship of war; also, an open boat of any size driven by steam, naphtha, electricity, or the like.

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