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
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
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
The high-octane track, which made its live debut during the kickoff of BLACKPINK’s World Tour DEADLINE in Goyang, South Korea, last weekend, is already sending shockwaves through the BLINK fandom and beyond.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 11 July 2025
Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 July 2025
They are set to belatedly kick off their Vegas residency soon, too, with shows scheduled to start Sept. 12 and wrap Oct. 3.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for kickoff
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Noun
These are ideally strong kickoff numbers for a major film production that took $225 million to make and roughly $100 million to promote, according to Variety.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
The high-octane track, which made its live debut during the kickoff of BLACKPINK’s World Tour DEADLINE in Goyang, South Korea, last weekend, is already sending shockwaves through the BLINK fandom and beyond.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 11 July 2025
Verb
Hilliker kicked off her bachelorette celebration with a private plane ride to Sin City with her girlfriends.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 July 2025
They are set to belatedly kick off their Vegas residency soon, too, with shows scheduled to start Sept. 12 and wrap Oct. 3.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for kickoff
Cite this Entry
“Kickoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kickoff. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
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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