start off
Britishverb
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(intr) to set out on a journey
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to be or make the first step in an activity; initiate
he started the show off with a lively song
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(tr) to cause (a person) to act or do something, such as to laugh, to tell stories, etc
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Set out on a trip, as in We plan to start off in the morning . [Early 1800s] Also see start out .
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start someone off . Cause someone to set out or to begin something, as in Mother packed their lunches and started them off , or Paul started them off on their multiplication tables . [Early 1700s] For start off on the right foot , see get off on the right foot .
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.
“We start off trying to help people, and offer this safe space that allows people to do something other than just go on the street and protest, because not everybody is able to do that,” Lima said.
From Los Angeles Times
“I could just start off by saying JPMorgan could be an endgame winner in the AI space,” said Mary Callahan Erdoes, the company’s chief executive of asset management and wealth management.
From MarketWatch
“We start off with with a number that we feel really good about and then re-evaluate it when we get closer to the quarter, and that’s been our track record,” Linford said.
From Barron's
This year’s event will start off with a screening and conversation with the stars of Apple TV’s postapocalyptic sci-fi series “Pluribus.”
From Los Angeles Times
Inflation could get even worse to start off 2026, since January is when companies adjust pricing for the year.
From MarketWatch
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.
