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
kicked off; kicking off; kicks off
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
: to mark the beginning of
kick off the campaign
Synonyms
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
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
The free festival is also the kickoff to sjDANCEco’s 21st season.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Beyond the 12 touchdowns, the 6-0 Wilson had 769 receiving yards and has some experience as a kickoff returner.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
On April 3, the HGTV personality, 38, attended Disney and National Geographic's kickoff of the ourHOME campaign at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
The festival marks the official kickoff for kite-flying season and for 70 years has been part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a four-week-long celebration of spring and the District’s trademark blooms.
—Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
The league said in February that concussions sustained during kickoffs dropped but that the number of returns had also decreased.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 26 Mar. 2024
This kickoff chapter follows a young American woman named Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), who uncovers plans about the Antichrist’s birth while working at a church in Rome.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
After a soulful live performance by Leslie Odom Jr. and opening remarks from TIME CEO Jessica Sibley, Page sat down with TIME Contributing Editor Sam Lansky to kick off a series of panel discussions featuring the global TIME100 community.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
The 43-date Insano world tour was scheduled to kick off on July 28 in Austin, Texas, and featured support from Pusha T, Jaden and Earthgang.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
Set to kick off this week, the four-day event will run from April 24 to April 27, and the winner will take home a whopping $21 million grand prize.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024
The Messi Experience, a 20,000 square-foot, multi-media immersive traveling exhibit kicks off its world tour in Miami Thursday at The Hangar at Regatta Harbor in Coconut Grove.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
So, while Moore, Sullivan and Brown may be preparing to kick off their podcast next month, Huertas admits that the project didn’t come as a surprise to the other members of cast like himself and Hartley.
—Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
Few seemed more textbook than Kim walking to kick off the eighth, stealing second, stealing third and later scoring on Bogaerts’ walk.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
The incident came just days after Wallen, 30, kicked off his 2024 One Night at a Time tour.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2024
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
The free festival is also the kickoff to sjDANCEco’s 21st season.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Beyond the 12 touchdowns, the 6-0 Wilson had 769 receiving yards and has some experience as a kickoff returner.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
On April 3, the HGTV personality, 38, attended Disney and National Geographic's kickoff of the ourHOME campaign at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
The festival marks the official kickoff for kite-flying season and for 70 years has been part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a four-week-long celebration of spring and the District’s trademark blooms.
—Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
The league said in February that concussions sustained during kickoffs dropped but that the number of returns had also decreased.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 26 Mar. 2024
This kickoff chapter follows a young American woman named Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), who uncovers plans about the Antichrist’s birth while working at a church in Rome.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Verb
Kid Cudi was set to embark on a world tour in support of Insano with opener Pusha T. It was initially meant to kick off its North American leg on July 28 in Austin, Texas, at Moody Center.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
After a soulful live performance by Leslie Odom Jr. and opening remarks from TIME CEO Jessica Sibley, Page sat down with TIME Contributing Editor Sam Lansky to kick off a series of panel discussions featuring the global TIME100 community.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
The 43-date Insano world tour was scheduled to kick off on July 28 in Austin, Texas, and featured support from Pusha T, Jaden and Earthgang.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
Set to kick off this week, the four-day event will run from April 24 to April 27, and the winner will take home a whopping $21 million grand prize.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024
The Messi Experience, a 20,000 square-foot, multi-media immersive traveling exhibit kicks off its world tour in Miami Thursday at The Hangar at Regatta Harbor in Coconut Grove.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
So, while Moore, Sullivan and Brown may be preparing to kick off their podcast next month, Huertas admits that the project didn’t come as a surprise to the other members of cast like himself and Hartley.
—Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
Few seemed more textbook than Kim walking to kick off the eighth, stealing second, stealing third and later scoring on Bogaerts’ walk.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
The incident came just days after Wallen, 30, kicked off his 2024 One Night at a Time tour.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kickoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to kickoff
Dictionary Entries Near kickoff
Cite this Entry
“Kickoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kickoff. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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