kickoff

1 of 2

noun

kick·​off ˈkik-ˌȯf 

1

: a kick that puts the ball into play in a football or soccer game

the opening kickoff

2

: the start of something : commencement

the campaign kickoff

kick off

2 of 2

verb

kicked off; kicking off; kicks off

intransitive verb

1

: to start or resume play in football by a placekick

2

a

: to initiate proceedings

b

: to start out : begin

the movie kicks off with a bank robbery

3

slang : die

transitive verb

: to mark the beginning of

kick off the campaign

Synonyms

Noun

• alpha
• baseline
• beginning
• birth
• commencement
• dawn
• day one
• genesis
• get-go
• git-go
• inception
• incipience
• incipiency
• launch
• morning
• nascence
• nascency
• onset
• outset
• start
• threshold

Verb

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

Examples of kickoff in a Sentence

Noun

At his campaign kickoff, the senator gave a passionate speech about combating poverty.

His speech marked the kickoff of his campaign.

Verb

I'll kick off the discussion on ethics with this question.

surprisingly, the recluse was worth a cool million when he kicked off

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Besides Lynch, the Trojans have redshirt freshman Tyler Robles, who played in two games last year, including handling kickoffs in the Holiday Bowl. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

The official kickoff to the tour, on the other hand, will be in Palm Desert at Acrisure Arena. —Tom Coulter, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1856, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1857, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

kickoff

1 of 2 noun

kick·​off ˈkik-ˌȯf 

: a kick that puts the ball into play (as in soccer or football)

kick off

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)kik-ˈȯf

1

: to make a kickoff

2

: begin sense 1