kickoff
Americannoun
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kickoffs
plural
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Football. a place kick or a drop kick from the 40-yard line of the team kicking at the beginning of the first and third periods or after the team kicking has scored a touchdown or field goal.
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Soccer. a kick that puts a stationary ball into play from the center line of the field at the start of a quarter or after a goal has been scored.
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the initial stage of something; start; beginning.
the campaign kickoff.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kickoff
First recorded in 1855–60; noun use of verb phrase kick off
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“We were starting to believe that this was going to be a kickoff for investment to start to increase,” said Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte Canada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
He added that naming Watt, who joined CBS as an NFL analyst in 2023, as an interim replacement was necessary as the first kickoff is a month away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
That starts in the fourth season’s kickoff, when Rebecca, Keeley and Higgins journey to Kansas City to re-recruit Ted.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
It was the kickoff event for Abdul El-Sayed’s biggest swing of rallies to date in what has become the country’s most-watched primary.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Marshall fumbles the kickoff and Permian recovers deep inside Maverick territory at the 37.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Executives also hire him to help write their material for corporate kickoffs and all-hands meetings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
He has made 11 of 13 field goals and kicked 93% of his kickoffs for touchbacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
That first season, the percentage of touchbacks on kickoffs plummeted because kickers couldn’t boot the ball as far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Karty, who has been masterful at dropping hard-to-handle knuckleball kickoffs into the landing zone, also misplaced a kick that gave the 49ers the ball at the 40-yard line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
I’d been at campaign kickoffs, fund-raisers, and election-night parties.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
