as in began
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 led off
Nathan Lukes led off Game 4 and played left field in Springer's place on Tuesday, a game the Blue Jays won 6-2.
—
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Daulton Varsho led off with a single and Ernie Clement doubled, and Dave Roberts made the call for Banda.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Chourio, who led off the Brewers’ Game 2 loss with a home run off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was replaced during his at-bat by pinch hitter Blake Perkins in the seventh inning.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers started off fast as Shohei Ohtani led off in the bottom of the first with a triple off of Aaron Ashby.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Daulton Varsho led off with a single and Ernie Clement doubled, and Dave Roberts made the call for Banda.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Chourio, who led off the Brewers’ Game 2 loss with a home run off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was replaced during his at-bat by pinch hitter Blake Perkins in the seventh inning.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers started off fast as Shohei Ohtani led off in the bottom of the first with a triple off of Aaron Ashby.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for led off
Verb
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Many Federal Aviation Administration facilities are so critically short on controllers that just a few absences can cause disruptions, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that more air traffic controllers have been calling in sick since the shutdown began.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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That is when the gruelling road back to fitness began.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As one of Stephen King‘s scariest pieces of IP gets the HBO Max series treatment, the bloodbath has commenced with the first episode.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
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The battle of the crustless sandwiches has commenced.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The initial symptoms began in early 2024, when Farrington, 45, started to experience dreadful night sweats.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Pandemic deals gave way to record rents, and evictions started up again.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Both offenses, however, got off to somewhat slow starts.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
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The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival got off to a spectacular start on Monday with a galaxy of stars in attendance.—
Mark Schilling,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For Starbucks patrons at an upscale mall in Beijing’s central business district – the same complex where the company first opened its doors in China in 1999 – the news doesn’t come as a complete surprise.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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The last time San Diego State opened a men’s basketball season against Long Beach State, in 2010, Kawhi Leonard and the Aztecs trailed by one deep into the second half and needed three 3s by backup guard James Rahon to grind out a nervy road win.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Led off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/led%20off. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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