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.
The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
Nakamura wasn’t there to tee off on inferior opponents—or for a few thousand bucks in prize money.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 5, 2025
It comes as thousands of people are in Portrush to watch the world's top golfers tee off in the official practice session of The Open Championship.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2025
Play was suspended at 12:50 p.m. with six twosomes yet to begin the round and 50 minutes before the final group — Lowry and Skinns — were scheduled to tee off.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2024
The difference is that one will be splurging and then play on a public course while the other will not blink at the price and tee off at a private country club.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
