[], (Noun)

Definitions:
- A system for assisting the take-off of an aircraft or missile in which a (usually detachable) unit of rocket engines is used temporarily to provide additional thrust. Frequently attributive, especially in "RATO unit".


Phrases:

Origin:
1940s; earliest use found in Joplin (Missouri) Globe. Acronym from the initial letters of rocket-assisted take-off from rocket + assisted + take-off