1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

leading off

verb

present participle of lead off
as in beginning
to take the first step in (a process or course of action) plans to lead off the news conference with a prepared statement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 leading off Athletics starter Jacob Lopez hit Mayo with a pitch leading off the second then walked Leodys Taveras with one out. — ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026 Christian Koss was hit by a pitch leading off the fifth and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nate Furman before Taylor Clarke replaced Arizona starter Jose Cabrera. — CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 Jackson Holliday singled leading off the eighth and, with one out, Basallo hit his first career pinch homer, a shot to center. — Harvey Valentine, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026 The Sox trailed 2-0 in the seventh when Vargas walked leading off the inning. — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026 Smith said that with South Carolina leading off and many Southern states following on Super Tuesday soon after the early lineup concludes, progressives will have to take the time to listen and then tailor their messages. — Mike Catalini, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026 Along the way, the Padres got a one-out double by Jake Cronenworth in the second inning, a one-out double by Ty France in the fourth, a double leading off the fifth by Freddy Fermin and another one-out double by France in the sixth. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leading off
  1. beginning
  2. commencing
  3. starting
  4. getting off
  5. opening
Verb
  • The programs are beginning with kindergarten students in the current 2026-27 school year and will add one grade each year.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Coaches said players in the portal were beginning to take scholarship opportunities away from high school players.
    — Manny Navarro, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of beginning
Verb
  • The film will shoot on location at the heart of Pendle in Lancashire, with principal photography commencing end of September.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The fourth-round tie will not be played until the week commencing October 26.
    — Simon Johnson, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of commencing
Verb
  • Kevin Danso, who closed the season as his starting centre-back, and Cristian Romero have been replaced in the starting line-up by Jan Paul van Hecke, a classy but less physically dominant defender than the outgoers.
    — Elias Burke, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • But just as at any school, the students are then split into many more subcultures, starting with those in the co-ops—student-run living and dining communities that essentially stand in for Greek life.
    — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of starting
Verb
  • One of the most common routes to the Camp Nou from the city centre involves getting off at Les Corts station.
    — Pol Ballús, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Video shows the officer performing a traffic break to stop vehicles before getting off his motorcycle and walking toward the center median.
    — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of getting off
Verb
  • YouTube is having a breakthrough moment, in terms of legacy media opening its mind to what creators are capable of.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • That's the central question of an eye-opening new book, The Everywhere Millionaire, by two economists who have spent more than a decade researching the wealthiest Americans.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of opening

Browse Nearby Words

leading men
leading off
leading on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Leading off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leading%20off. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of watershed

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All