lead-off
adjective
leading off or beginning.
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lead-off
American
[leed-awf, -of]
/ ˈlidˌɔf, -ˌɒf /
adjective
lead off
British
/ liːd /
verb
noun
-
an initial move or action
-
a person or thing that begins something
lead off
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of lead-off
First recorded in 1885–90; adj. use of verb phrase lead 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:
It was the lead-off single to “Parade,” the full soundtrack album to Prince’s 1986 vanity lap “Under the Cherry Moon,” in which he directed and starred, and premiered months after “Kiss” became a hit.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
The junior center fielder and lead-off batter has come on strong, batting .426 with a team high 11 home runs on a team filled with pro prospects.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
“A lead-off walk, that never ends well,” Miller said.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2024
Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff, making his fifth start of the season, was replaced with one out and Seager on second after a lead-off double.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
Every one knew it was borrowed, for he had asked about twenty of his friends during the last week whether that wouldn’t be “a showy lead-off for his cricket feast jaw?”
From The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's A School Story by Reed, Talbot Baines
To lead off the fourth inning, Yamamoto surrendered a solo homer to Trent Grisham.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
"We've always stressed to any dog owners that dogs need to be kept on the lead, off the furniture. People are very aware of other people who don't like to be around dogs."
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
Alexis Monney was the first of the Swiss quartet to tackle the Stelvio, immediately taking the lead off Austria's Daniel Hemetsberger.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
Freddie Freeman slammed a walk-off homer to lead off the bottom of the 18th, putting the finishing touch on one of the weirdest, wackiest, most mind-numbing contests ever staged in the Fall Classic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
Perhaps a conference, because two sets of footprints seemed to lead off while one remained pacing the cliff edge.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
