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.
"People's roofs were falling, and mould was growing in different flats all the time. It would start off something small and then within weeks it spread absolutely everywhere," Mphango tells us.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 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
Within the niche category of meditation memoir, I’ve always appreciated narratives by dyspeptic Type As, the kind of meditators who start off by sitting in silent judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
"My advice is to start off as you mean to go on."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
