leadoff
adjective
led off; leading off; leads off
: begin
also
: to come on or perform first
Synonyms
Examples of leadoff in a Sentence
Verb
plans to lead off the news conference with a prepared statement
Recent Examples on the Web
Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Dangerous leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a soft liner back up the middle.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
In the ninth, Martinez hit the leadoff hitter and then walked the next batter.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
Right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence committed the baseball sin of walking the leadoff hitter, Ketel Marte.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Batting leadoff appeared to be Washington’s way of getting Rendon engaged early in games and in the season.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
In the top of the first, the Cubs’ three leadoff hitters reached on a double, walk and ground-ball single on the infield.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Left fielder Judah Tillman scored the Grizzlies’ first run when leadoff hitter Jaelyn Vejar slapped a single into right field.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Max Muncy, who had twice struck out earlier in the game with runners in scoring position, drew a leadoff walk that was aided by a Padres pitch-clock violation (San Diego’s staff, stunningly, committed four of them in the game).
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
After Drew Woodson walked leading off the ninth for the Red Raiders, Stone Hewlett came in to pitch for Jake Faherty.
—Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 18 Apr. 2024
But Abrams led off the third with a towering home run to right-center, his fourth of the season, and Jesse Winker doubled to left and scored on Joey Gallo’s RBI double to right for a 3-2 Washington lead.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The trio led off the bottom of the first with hits as Van Cleave doubled and Hogg and Simmons each singled.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2024
Nick Gordon led off the frame with a walk, moved to third on a Nick Fortes single through the right side and scored on a Luis Arraez single through the left side.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Jung Hoo Lee led off with a single and Wilmer Flores singled behind him, then Jorge Soler worked a nine-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out.
—Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Porter led off the Huntington Beach first inning with a single.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 23 Mar. 2024
Vierling led off with his first homer of the season.
—Dana Gauruder, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
Noun
Offensively, the Guardians have been receiving a huge spark from Fremont’s Steven Kwan, who is emerging as one of the top leadoff hitters in the game.
—Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Dangerous leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a soft liner back up the middle.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
In the ninth, Martinez hit the leadoff hitter and then walked the next batter.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
Right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence committed the baseball sin of walking the leadoff hitter, Ketel Marte.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Batting leadoff appeared to be Washington’s way of getting Rendon engaged early in games and in the season.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
In the top of the first, the Cubs’ three leadoff hitters reached on a double, walk and ground-ball single on the infield.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Left fielder Judah Tillman scored the Grizzlies’ first run when leadoff hitter Jaelyn Vejar slapped a single into right field.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Max Muncy, who had twice struck out earlier in the game with runners in scoring position, drew a leadoff walk that was aided by a Padres pitch-clock violation (San Diego’s staff, stunningly, committed four of them in the game).
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Verb
Kayla Walton led off the second with a double to right-center and scored on an RBI groundout by Kathleen Clark.
—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
After Drew Woodson walked leading off the ninth for the Red Raiders, Stone Hewlett came in to pitch for Jake Faherty.
—Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 18 Apr. 2024
But Abrams led off the third with a towering home run to right-center, his fourth of the season, and Jesse Winker doubled to left and scored on Joey Gallo’s RBI double to right for a 3-2 Washington lead.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The trio led off the bottom of the first with hits as Van Cleave doubled and Hogg and Simmons each singled.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2024
Nick Gordon led off the frame with a walk, moved to third on a Nick Fortes single through the right side and scored on a Luis Arraez single through the left side.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Jung Hoo Lee led off with a single and Wilmer Flores singled behind him, then Jorge Soler worked a nine-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out.
—Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Porter led off the Huntington Beach first inning with a single.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 23 Mar. 2024
Vierling led off with his first homer of the season.
—Dana Gauruder, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leadoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near leadoff
Cite this Entry
“Leadoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadoff. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
leadoff
noun
lead·off
ˈlēd-ˌȯf 
1
: a beginning action
2
: one that begins something
leadoff
adjective
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