leadoff

1 of 2

noun

lead·​off ˈlēd-ˌȯf 

1

: a beginning or leading action

2

: one that leads off

leadoff adjective

lead off

2 of 2

verb

ˈlēd- 

led off; leading off; leads off

intransitive verb

: begin

also : to come on or perform first

transitive verb

1

: to make a start on : open

2

: to bat first for a baseball team in (an inning)

Synonyms

Verb

• begin
• commence
• embark (on or upon)
• enter (into or upon)
• fall (to)
• get off
• kick off
• launch
• open
• start
• strike (into)

Examples of leadoff in a Sentence

Verb

plans to lead off the news conference with a prepared statement

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Starting that night, NCIS: Sydney Season 2 will claim the leadoff spot, followed by Fire Country and S.W.A.T. Ilonzeh’s previous TV credits include Chicago Fire, Person of Interest, ABC’s 2011 Charlie’s Angels reboot and General Hospital. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 12 Dec. 2024

Kansas City, as a team, got a .228 batting average (27th of 30 teams) and a .270 on-base percentage (30th) from their leadoff hitters last year. —Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024

Verb

Ohtani scored the first run and the tying run for Japan — the latter after leading off the ninth inning with a double — and Yamamoto came out of the bullpen and held Mexico at bay until Japan rallied from an early three-run deficit. —Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024

While the intimate Moon in your communication sector cooperates with focused Saturn in your self-expression zone, you’re equipped to identify which details are genuinely necessary to shape a coherent narrative versus which will lead off on distracting tangents. —Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1806, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

leadoff

noun

lead·​off ˈlēd-ˌȯf 

1

: a beginning action

2

: one that begins something

leadoff adjective