tee off

verb

1. golf to strike (the ball) from a tee, as when starting a hole

2. informal,  to begin; start

Idioms and Phrases

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]

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

Nakamura wasn’t there to tee off on inferior opponents—or for a few thousand bucks in prize money.

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And before the Americans ever teed off, strategic miscues placed them at a crushing disadvantage.

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But, effectively, last week's 45th Ryder Cup had already been won by Europe before that last session teed off.

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The headlines were being written long before Sunday's Ryder Cup singles had even teed off such was Europe's domination over the opening two days.

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While several of the chasing pack did all they could to add pressure before the Japanese duo teed off, much of that effort would have proved irrelevant had the final group shot low themselves.

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Related Words

• adopt 
• assume 
• commence 
• continue 
• embrace 
• enter 
• initiate 
• open 
• pick up 
• renew 
• reopen 
• resume 
• tackle 
• undertake