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.
Thursday will start off with some rain across south-eastern areas of England, taking some time to clear away from the Kent coast.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The fans are all over the place — it’s harder to get someone in small rooms, and you have to start off that way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Ninety-four percent of Compass’s listings that start off as private eventually end up on the Multiple-Listing Service, according to Compass, and then, in theory, they end up on Zillow.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
"We're going to start off slower and then increase our rates," Boland-Masterson said, describing the work ahead on the site's first 737 MAX 10 fuselage that was just beginning to be assembled.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Suppose the pieces of the jigsaw start off in a box in the ordered arrangement in which they form a picture.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
