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kicks off

verb

present tense third-person singular of kick off
1
as in begins
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 dies
slang to stop living surprisingly, the recluse was worth a cool million when he kicked off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of kicks off College football kicks off in a few hours, and Underdog is offering you a great option to receive a $1,000 deposit match bonus to use for college football this weekend using promo code FOXNEWS. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 By the time the Liverpool game kicks off, Jaissle will still have only been in Newcastle for a fortnight. — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 The trek kicks off September 9 in Milwaukee and concludes a month later in Santa Ana, California on October 18. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 Inter Miami, seeking to end a four-game winless skid, kicks off a three-game homestand on Saturday against Toronto FC. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 The song, an ode to Sivan’s love and appreciation for women, especially transgender women, kicks off a new era for the singer following his 2023 album, Something to Give Each Other. — Jack Irvin, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026 This event kicks off a rare series of three total solar eclipses within 372 days. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026 The 174th annual Lake County Fair kicks off Friday with new vendors, concerts, a few booth location changes, and a moving performance during the first weekend, officials said. — Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 Each year, the race kicks off in a new city, called the Grand Départ. — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicks off
  1. begins
  2. dies
  3. commences
  4. falls
  5. starts
  6. passes away
  7. opens
  8. perishes
Verb
  • Andrew offers his distraught daughter little sympathy, and from that moment, a murder plot begins to take shape.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Episode 4 begins with Stuart confined to a mental health facility, where he’s heavily medicated and quietly judged by a psychiatrist who believes his visions of alternate universes are all in his head.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of begins
Verb
  • Making people’s lives better does not mean having a symbolic vote on something that goes to the Senate and dies — that’s what the Republicans have done for two years.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Using the X-ray spacecraft XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), astronomers have observed stellar winds from a hypergiant star feeding an extreme stellar remnant known as a neutron star, left over after a massive star dies.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of dies
Verb
  • The Europa League commences with its first league phase fixtures next week, on Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This tender novel of intimacy and its risks begins in Boston in 1969, as Eve, a dancer, commences an affair with a colleague—an indiscretion that spurs her husband, a journalist named Gabe, to cheat, too.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of commences
Verb
  • Because every moment is narrated in Ugandan Sign Language and International Sign, Deaf travelers are more deeply immersed in the experience, and a welcome hush falls over the environment—which is, surprise, appreciated by the wildlife too.
    — CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
  • However, the salt can solidify if its temperature falls too close to its freezing point.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of falls
Verb
  • Reimagination starts by looking differently at what is already there.
    — Angela C. Hill, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole starts to tilt away from the sun shortly after the fall equinox.
    — Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of starts
Verb
  • Notable franchise records • Dak Prescott is six touchdown passes away from passing Tony Romo to become the Dallas Cowboys career leader in passing touchdowns.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The loan does not need to be repaid until the last borrower passes away, sells the home, or moves out for good, such as entering long-term care.
    — Gary Singer, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of passes away
Verb
  • The front door opens to a wall of giant spindly cacti masking large south-facing windows.
    — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Nike's stock price has plummeted nearly 80% from its 2021 peak, and the company is set to be removed from the S&P 100 Index before the market opens next Monday.
    — , CNBC, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of opens
Verb
  • In The Children, sister and brother Guinevere and Ennis grow up under the shadow of their mother, Edith Sharpe, whose Ninth City children’s book series transfixes the world until Edith perishes in a mysterious fire in Vermont.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Every soldier Harry would have saved on a transport during the war perishes too.
    — Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
Definition of perishes

Browse Nearby Words

kicks in
kicks off
kicks out
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Cite this Entry

“Kicks off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicks%20off. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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