1
as in began
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in died
slang
to stop living
surprisingly, the recluse was worth a cool million when he kicked off
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of kicked off
Opening Day for Ramona Pony Baseball’s 47th year kicked off one of the league’s biggest seasons on Saturday with 462 players ready to take the diamond.
—
Stephanie Ogilvie, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Spelling had already reached the full height of her small-screen fame playing Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, which kicked off in 1990.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Mar. 2026
The discoveries kicked off an investigation that eventually led to a cross-state manhunt.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
High Potential, created by Drew Goddard based on the French series HPI, kicked off 2026 in a new timeslot, airing an hour earlier at 9pm.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
The Spaniard kicked off his title campaign on the street course a year ago with the win, the first of eight victories that included the Indianapolis 500 and a third consecutive IndyCar title.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
The city’s first festival dedicated exclusively to comedy on screen kicked off earlier this week.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Amid a whirlwind 36 hours within the Major League Baseball Players Association, new interim executive director Bruce Meyer and MLBPA personnel kicked off their annual spring training visits that brought them to the Chicago Cubs complex Wednesday afternoon.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
What really infuriates me about that moment, however, is that Rod’s comment was kicked off by Salley talking about her connection with Austen.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
Stephanie Ogilvie, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Spelling had already reached the full height of her small-screen fame playing Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, which kicked off in 1990.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Mar. 2026
The discoveries kicked off an investigation that eventually led to a cross-state manhunt.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
High Potential, created by Drew Goddard based on the French series HPI, kicked off 2026 in a new timeslot, airing an hour earlier at 9pm.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
The Spaniard kicked off his title campaign on the street course a year ago with the win, the first of eight victories that included the Indianapolis 500 and a third consecutive IndyCar title.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
The city’s first festival dedicated exclusively to comedy on screen kicked off earlier this week.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Amid a whirlwind 36 hours within the Major League Baseball Players Association, new interim executive director Bruce Meyer and MLBPA personnel kicked off their annual spring training visits that brought them to the Chicago Cubs complex Wednesday afternoon.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
What really infuriates me about that moment, however, is that Rod’s comment was kicked off by Salley talking about her connection with Austen.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicked off
Verb
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That marked the first such departure order issued by Washington in Saudi Arabia since the war began.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
9 Mar. 2026
-
His win in Istanbul in 2019 represented a crushing blow to Erdogan, whose own political ascent began as the city’s mayor.—
Beril Akman,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In his Wednesday interview, Gonzales alleged that when Santos-Aviles died, her widow reached out to the representative’s offices to ask about death benefits and retirement funds.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The Pentagon has released the names of five other members of the Army Reserve who died in the drone strike.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The team’s 2026 model car wasn’t in its wind tunnel until mid-April last year, when other teams had commenced such testing in January 2025.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Gates tells Outdoor Life that Miller’s citizen petition was introduced to the CPW Commission in June, just a day before a furbearer working group commenced to provide recommendations on furbearer harvest.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Apartment buildings were felled by air strikes, and smoke billowed from the blasts; the buzz of Israeli drones filled the air.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Too many people, particularly those in my age group, have been felled by a cold that morphed into pneumonia, or a UTI that landed them in the hospital, or a simple stumble on a floor mat that resulted in surgery and months of physical therapy.—
Donna Vickroy,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel after more major Middle East countries started reducing production, as storage fills up due to the closure of Hormuz.—
Louise Moon,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The shows, once Nick and I started going to them that fall, were something different entirely.—
Andrew Martin,
Vogue,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Gehry passed away in December of 2025, age 96, following a brief respiratory illness.—
David Sokol,
Architectural Digest,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Alcorn passed away at 71 in January 2025 as possibly the world’s pre-eminent pedal steel player, driven by a vision to bring as much out of it as possible and, in doing so, to gracefully apprehend and interpret whatever music caught her interest.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Impala Platinum has opened formal talks with Zimbabwe’s central bank and lined up meetings with both the South African and Zimbabwean governments to press for clarity on Harare’s export-earnings policy, its CEO told Semafor, escalating a commercial cash-flow dispute into bilateral negotiations.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
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The 28-year-old California native faces growing as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have opened a commanding gap atop the tennis world.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Lamar Odom has reportedly checked out of rehab after completing a 30-day program following his DUI arrest earlier this year.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Paramedics checked out three people, but none went to the hospital.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kicked off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicked%20off. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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