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
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Recent Examples of leading off
The Defender brand is underpinned by Land Rover—a mark of trust built on 75 years of expertise in technology and world-leading off-road capability.
—
Outside Online, 3 Oct. 2025
No assistance was needed for Devers to reach the water leading off the third inning against Sonny Gray.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox will load up with right-handed batters against the A’s southpaw, with Romy Gonzalez leading off, Alex Bregman batting second, Trevor Story third, Rob Refsnyder fourth, Carlos Narvaez fifth and Nate Eaton sixth.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
Verlander’s scoreless streak ended at 18 innings when Michael Conforto hit a home run leading off the seventh inning, but Melvin stuck with him following Rortvedt’s two-out double.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Vinnie Pasquantino connected on his 29th home run of the season leading off the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 3-2.
—Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustin Ramirez walked leading off the Miami fourth and Liam Hicks hit into a force play.
—Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Monday’s home run leading off the second sparked a three-run inning.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
The lone run scored after Tolle allowed a double to Jacksonville's Matthew Etzel leading off the game.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Outside Online, 3 Oct. 2025
No assistance was needed for Devers to reach the water leading off the third inning against Sonny Gray.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox will load up with right-handed batters against the A’s southpaw, with Romy Gonzalez leading off, Alex Bregman batting second, Trevor Story third, Rob Refsnyder fourth, Carlos Narvaez fifth and Nate Eaton sixth.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
Verlander’s scoreless streak ended at 18 innings when Michael Conforto hit a home run leading off the seventh inning, but Melvin stuck with him following Rortvedt’s two-out double.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Vinnie Pasquantino connected on his 29th home run of the season leading off the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 3-2.
—Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025
Augustin Ramirez walked leading off the Miami fourth and Liam Hicks hit into a force play.
—Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Monday’s home run leading off the second sparked a three-run inning.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
The lone run scored after Tolle allowed a double to Jacksonville's Matthew Etzel leading off the game.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leading off
Verb
-
That means Swift incorporated a portion of the pop classic's composition into her version, in this case the melody and beginning chorus lyrics.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Yet there’s nothing noticeable about him—brown hair, blue eyes, a chin just beginning to widen into adolescence—except the mix of fear and determination that shows when the camera zooms in on his face.—
Gershom Gorenberg,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The case is scheduled to be heard in London’s High Court, commencing on October 28.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The rebate checks were issued for three consecutive years, commencing in 1999.—
Robert Goulder,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Everton appear locked in a cycle where their starting No 9 flatters to deceive, is left out for the next game, but then the replacement fares little better.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Around her, the rooms were starting to fill up.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Creating turnovers is important, but so is getting off the field, which TCU hasn’t been able to do consistently.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Oct. 2025
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After getting off to a 1-2-1 start to the season, Jerry Jones and company badly need a win.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Analysts also observed that the industry remains extremely cautious in opening new factories.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Nvidia has been expanding in Taiwan, partnering with Foxconn and the government to build a 10,000-Blackwell GPU AI training and supercomputing facility in the south, opening a larger Taipei office, and collaborating with Taiwanese companies such as TSMC to build an AI infrastructure ecosystem.—
Yu-Tzu Chiu,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leading off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leading%20off. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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