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
• start
• fall (to)
• set about
• get off
• embark (on or upon)
• get going
• open

Examples of leadoff in a Sentence

Verb

plans to lead off the news conference with a prepared statement

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Boston reliever Luis Guerrero (0-1) issued a leadoff walk to Nolan Schanuel and a one-out walk to Mike Trout in the fifth. —Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2025

Mike Trout drew a leadoff walk and Jo Adell later singled with two outs to put two men on, but Crochet was able to finish his outing by forcing pinch hitter Travis d’Arnaud to pop out, preserving the 1-0 Red Sox lead. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 June 2025

Verb

After falling behind 2-0 early the club quickly tied the score, getting a solo home run from Narvaez that curled around Pesky’s Pole to lead off the second before Trevor Story singled, stole second and scored on Rafaela’s RBI double. —Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025

Toronto kept applying pressure from there, getting two men on to lead off the second before Bo Bichette extended the lead with an RBI single. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 28 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1806, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for leadoff

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

leadoff

noun

lead·​off ˈlēd-ˌȯf 

1

: a beginning action

2

: one that begins something

leadoff adjective