get/set/start the ball rolling
idiom
informal
: to begin an activity or process
At the meeting, she tried to get the ball rolling by asking a few questions.
Examples of get/set/start the ball rolling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
However, boosting a particular enzyme, glycogen phosphorylase (GlyP), can get the ball rolling and clear out that excess sugar, in turn stopping tau from clinging to it.
—
New Atlas, 30 June 2025
Having won the title in Arne Slot’s first campaign in charge, the Reds get the ball rolling on August 15 at 8pm (3pm ET) in the first Friday night football of the season.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
The funding generated by the $38 million bond sale will get the ball rolling on funding the projects, the release said, as well as refund some outstanding obligations.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
To get the ball rolling, experts encourage those who are starting to hunt for work to familiarize themselves with the array of tools at their disposal, such as Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT.
—Alain Sherter, CBS News, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get/set/start the ball rolling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
New Atlas, 30 June 2025
Having won the title in Arne Slot’s first campaign in charge, the Reds get the ball rolling on August 15 at 8pm (3pm ET) in the first Friday night football of the season.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
The funding generated by the $38 million bond sale will get the ball rolling on funding the projects, the release said, as well as refund some outstanding obligations.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
To get the ball rolling, experts encourage those who are starting to hunt for work to familiarize themselves with the array of tools at their disposal, such as Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT.
—Alain Sherter, CBS News, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get/set/start the ball rolling
Cite this Entry
“Get/set/start the ball rolling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%2Fset%2Fstart%20the%20ball%20rolling. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share