leadoff
Americannoun
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an act that starts something; start; beginning.
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Baseball. the player who is first in the batting order or who is first to bat for a team in an inning.
Etymology
Origin of leadoff
First recorded in 1890–95; noun 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.
In the bottom of the third, Yamamoto gave up a leadoff single and issued two walks before Yelich came up with two outs and drove a curveball into center field for two runs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Phillies have upended a century of baseball lineup wisdom by putting their slugger in the leadoff spot and batting their contact hitter cleanup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Ohtani has hit leadoff in every game he’s started this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
It also explains why Schwarber has been largely ensconced in the leadoff spot since joining the Phillies in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
I’m always pumped before the first pitch of a game, especially when I’m batting leadoff and especially when it’s the first game of a doubleheader.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
