as in first
coming before all others in time or order
the leadoff batter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to begin
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leadoff
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026
CBS News, 10 June 2026
Luis Arraez led off the ninth, and Chapman followed by doubling home Arraez to cut the deficit to 10-7.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for leadoff
Adjective
Those four all ranked among the top 40 in baseball in non-leadoff plate appearances with the bases empty last season.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
Angels starter Reid Detmers retired his first 15 batters before Shay Whitcomb homered leading off the sixth.
—CBS News, 10 June 2026
Luis Arraez led off the ninth, and Chapman followed by doubling home Arraez to cut the deficit to 10-7.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for leadoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leadoff
Adjective
-
One of the game’s best players just recorded his first goal in the World Cup!—
NBC News,
NBC news,
17 June 2026
-
Kingsley’s first job as an actor was performing Shakespeare in schools.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Federal investigators have arrived at Butler Memorial Airport to begin examining the plane crash that killed 12 people Sunday morning.—
Neil Nakahodo,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
-
Work is continuing to try to stabilize the Pacifica Municipal Pier, which began cracking at its base on June 4 and is now in danger of breaking off and falling into the water.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Patriots had held possession in the overtime period since the initial draw control, but the tenacious Notre Dame Academy defense was plugging gaps exceptionally well.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
11 June 2026
-
But initial attempts to send her to Tahiti, a French dependency, about 1,350 miles — or a 30-hour sea journey — from Pitcairn, were rejected by French Polynesian authorities.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Homer Gere, Yvonne Chapman, Ellen Barkin, Willem Dafoe and Michael Douglas have rounded out the cast of Oliver Stone‘s upcoming pic White Lies as principal photography commences.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
10 June 2026
-
The update also states that the demonstration rare earth element (REE) separation plant will commence operations by late summer 2026.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Hurst, a Colorado native who grew up in Lakewood, was already 13 by the time of the Rockies’ inaugural season in 1993.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
-
After years of buildup, the 2026 FIFA World Cup officially begins Thursday when Mexico takes on South Africa in the inaugural match of the event.—
Kellis Robinett,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
See, often underestimated, Stein, who started as a wide receiver for the Shamrocks, stayed in his hometown and walked on at the University of Louisville.—
Ray Padilla,
Louisville Courier Journal,
12 Dec. 2025
-
Like a set of dominoes, Liverpool start poorly and end up chasing the game, diminishing the strengths of Gakpo and, particularly, Salah.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Pyka said DropShip completed its maiden flight just six months after the program launched.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 June 2026
-
Bangladesh, which won the first game by 86 runs on the DLS Method, is targeting a maiden ODI series win over Australia.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Spain came into the 2026 tournament with a top-three FIFA ranking and dreams of bringing another trophy back to the Iberian Peninsula, but their quest for a world title got off to an inauspicious start.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
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The heir to a newspaper fortune, Logan meets Rory at Yale and gets off to a rocky start while working on the Yale Daily News together.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Leadoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leadoff. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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