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lead-off

American  
[leed-awf, -of] / ˈlidˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

adjective

  1. leading off or beginning.

    the lead-off item on the agenda.
lead off British  
/ liːd /

verb

  1. to initiate the action of (something); begin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an initial move or action

  2. a person or thing that begins something

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lead off Idioms  

  1. Begin, start, go first. For example, We have a panel of three speakers, so will you lead off? [c. 1800]

Etymology

Origin of lead-off

First recorded in 1885–90; adj. use of verb phrase lead off

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.