Synonyms of kick off

kick off 1 of 2

verb

1

as in to begin

to take the first step in (a process or course of action)

I'll kick off the discussion on ethics with this question

Synonyms & Similar Words

• begin
• start
• commence
• fall (to)
• set about
• get off
• strike (into)
• get going
• open
• found
• lead off
• enter (into or upon)
• get to
• launch
• embark (on or upon)
• create
• initiate
• generate
• get around (to)
• originate
• take up
• adopt
• organize
• get down (to)
• establish
• invent
• pioneer
• institute
• take on
• inaugurate
• set up
• innovate
• get round (to)
• father
• spawn
• embrace

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• end
• finish
• conclude
• stop
• terminate
• cease
• complete
• discontinue
• quit
• halt
• lay off
• close
• leave
• knock off
• abandon
• desist
• destroy
• abolish
• forsake
• extinguish
• phase out
• exterminate
• demolish

2

as in to die

slang to stop living

surprisingly, the recluse was worth a cool million when he kicked off

Synonyms & Similar Words

• die
• fall
• pass (on)
• pass away
• perish
• check out
• buy it
• step out
• kick in
• depart
• pop off
• succumb
• peg out
• end
• demise
• disappear
• exit
• go
• expire
• snuff it
• part
• kick the bucket
• bite the dust
• give up the ghost
• fade
• drop
• decease
• conk (out)
• croak
• flatline
• dry up
• fail
• consume
• predecease

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• live
• come to
• breathe
• be
• revive
• exist
• linger
• flourish
• thrive
• subsist
• prosper

kickoff

2 of 2

noun

ˈkik-ˌȯf 

as in beginning

the point at which something begins

a political cycle in which an election marks not only the end of one campaign but also the kickoff for the next one

Synonyms & Similar Words

• beginning
• start
• commencement
• onset
• inception
• launch
• alpha
• baseline
• genesis
• dawn
• outset
• morning
• threshold
• inauguration
• birth
• initiation
• day one
• infancy
• nascence
• origination
• arrival
• nascency
• founding
• get-go
• spring
• incipience
• incipiency
• opening
• origin
• debut
• drawing board
• creation
• emergence
• first base
• ground zero
• institution
• dawning
• advent
• cradle
• fountain
• well
• childhood
• appearance
• source
• germ
• square one
• root
• youth
• seedbed
• fountainhead
• wellspring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• end
• conclusion
• close
• ending
• period
• completion
• closing
• termination
• finish
• closure
• stop
• cessation
• finale
• omega
• windup

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of kick off

Verb

Friday kicked off mostly mild, with temperatures likely to peak in the mid-60s — but conditions were expected to rapidly deteriorate as the nor’easter strengthens and pushed north up the coast. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026

The musician and actor kicked off their wedding weekend in Italy on Thursday, September 24, with a civil ceremony at the town hall of Montalcino, Tuscany. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

Noun

The junior is beginning to turn heads inside the program and in the fanbase with his ability to flip the field as a punter and on kickoffs. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2026

This is a much different-looking Dolphins team than the last time these two teams squared off at Arrowhead Stadium in the Wild Card round of January 2024, when the kickoff temperature was minus-4 degrees with a minus-27 wind chill. — Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026