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Synonyms

tee off

British  

verb

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

  2. informal to begin; start

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tee off Idioms  

  1. 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]

  2. 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.

"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

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

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From The Wall Street Journal

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

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.