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.
Yamamoto gave up a leadoff homer to Drake Baldwin but was lights out from there, allowing only three more hits and striking out eight before he exited with one out in the seventh inning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Snell got Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy to ground into a fielder’s choice, but it pushed a run across.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Dodgers need a real leadoff hitter who could work a walk, get a hit and steal a base and make it tough on a pitcher before your Nos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong had just traded leadoff home runs, so Crow-Armstrong told reporters that he shot back with: “Well, it took your guy 10 pitches, it only took me one.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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
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.
