lead-off
adjective
leading off or beginning.
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
Pinch hitter Taylor Stpehens worked a lead-off walk and came around to score on Kaitlyn Terry’s one-out triple.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025
“A lead-off walk, that never ends well,” Miller said.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2024
Lowe’s two-run homer to left followed Corey Seager’s lead-off walk.
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 Talbot Baines Reed
That streak ended with a double up the left-field line from Eduardo Valencia, who turned on an inside slider to lead off the fifth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
If Norris can keep the lead off the line to the end of the first lap, he has a chance.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Dodgers starting pitcher Eric Lauer, who had already given up a two-run home run to Alec Bohm in the first inning, surrendered a solo shot to Bryan De La Cruz to lead off the fifth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 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
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.
