What does "mislaunch" mean?

An attempt to launch something which results in it not following the intended trajectory.

How do you pronounce "mislaunch"?

Pronounced //ˈmɪslɔːntʃ//.

//ˈmɪslɔːntʃ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
An attempt to launch something which results in it not following the intended trajectory.
"It will take many static tests before we are ready to go, however I would rather see all the bugs removed on the ground than have a mislaunch."
2
The act of accidentally launching something.
"Protection against mislaunch of nuclear weapons via SDI deployment of an ABM system, which is what is proposed to enhance safety from accidents, should neither be treated as a sop to calm the total defense-related spending authority […]"
3
The failure of a marketing campaign to introduce a new product.
"Let us forget the whole muddled mislaunch and look at this important car as […]"

Verb

1
To launch a projectile or vehicle so that it does not follow the correct trajectory.
"The boy's arm aimed, mislaunched, and the dart swam through the air towards the front of the class, landing near Miss Fry."
2
To accidentally launch something that should not be launched.
3
To fail in the introduction of a product or program.
"For it is the intense suspicion of many that the total cost and worth of all the projects launched and mislaunched by this regime would not approximate even fifty percent of the total internal and external indebtedness running to several billions of dollars for which this dispensation has mortgaged and will continue to mortgage the republic to deeper and deeper ruination."

"It will take many static tests before we are ready to go, however I would rather see all the bugs removed on the ground than have a mislaunch."

From mis- + launch.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.