start off

verb

started off; starting off; starts off

1

: to start or cause (something) to start in a specified way

He started off by introducing himself.

She started off (her run) at a slow jog.

The performance started off badly.

—often + with

I started off my speech with a joke.

We started off the meal with shrimp cocktails.

The team started the season off with a 10-game winning streak.

2

: to have a specified quality, identity, job, etc., at the start

She started off as a sales assistant but is now the marketing director.

3

: to begin an important period in one's life or career

The house is perfect for a couple just starting off.

4

: to begin to move toward a particular place or in a particular direction

She ate breakfast before starting off for work.

5

: to cause (someone) to begin doing a particular activity or action

He started his daughter off on the piano.

The game-show host started her off with some easy questions.

Examples of start off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The day is starting off comfortably, with temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s. —Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026

Things that start off shiny usually tarnish. —Walden Green, Pitchfork, 24 Apr. 2026

Songs here that start off surprisingly bracing resolve into big, sleek choruses, the work of firm believers in the power of heroic, high-protein mainstream alt-rock as a salve against encroaching darkness. —Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026

The Sierra snowpack started off with some decent rounds of storms going into the winter, between late December and early January, and during a mid-February cold storm that boosted accumulations. —Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 22 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for start off

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