tee off
Britishverb
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golf to strike (the ball) from a tee, as when starting a hole
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informal to begin; start
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Start or begin, as in We teed off the fundraising drive with a banquet . This usage is a metaphor taken from golf, where tee off means “start play by driving a golf ball from the tee.” [Second half of 1900s]
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Make angry or irritated, as in That rude comment teed him off , or I was teed off because it rained all weekend . [ Slang ; mid-1900s] Also see tick 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.
Korda, who teed off 90 minutes before the leaders and three strokes adrift, followed back-to-back birdies with an eagle at the third hole.
From Barron's
He teed off on 10 on the La Quinta course, opening with the first of his seven birdies.
From Barron's
Brown, who made his pro debut at La Quinta last year, teed off on 10 and was eight under through his first seven holes thanks to an eagle and six birdies.
From Barron's
"It was amazing, I couldn't believe how many people were there at seven o'clock when we teed off," he said.
From BBC
English golfer Marco Penge says he is "in disbelief" as he prepares to tee off the DP World Tour's penultimate tournament with a chance of winning the Race to Dubai.
From BBC
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.
