From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlead off phrasal verb1 START DOING somethingto start a meeting, discussion, performance etc by saying or doing something I’d like to lead off by thanking Rick for coming. with The French team led off with two quick goals in the first five minutes.lead something ↔ off Hal led the evening off with some folk songs.2 JOIN something TOGETHER lead off (something) if a road, room etc leads off a place, you can go directly from that place along that road, into that room etclead off from something He pointed down a street leading off from the square. a large room, with doors leading off it in all directions3 to be the first player to try to hit the ball in an inning (=period of play) in a game of baseball → lead→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lead off• Bruins coach Steve Kasper led off.• On the first floor, leading off a covered balcony, were the chambers of the fellows and scholars.• Ramirez led off, and Mussina needed 13 pitches to strike him out.• The Chief Executive led off by pointing out that a merger was only one option.• Is there anyone here who would like to lead off the debate?• He retired the first 12 men he faced before David Justice led off the fifth with a double.• The other came after his walk to lead off the ninth with the score tied at seven.• Then he violently shoved her down the small flight of stairs that led off their bedroom to the bathroom.• Newman spotted the track leading off to the right and swung away from the main road.• We asked the sales director to lead off with the latest sales figures.lead with• At Nightingale House, the pack leads off with a copy of the Annual Review, which is published each year.• Eckersley got a popup and two strikeouts in the ninth after Jermaine Dye led off with a double.• He led off with a few jokes.lead off (something)• Bruins coach Steve Kasper led off.• On the first floor, leading off a covered balcony, were the chambers of the fellows and scholars.• Ramirez led off, and Mussina needed 13 pitches to strike him out.• He retired the first 12 men he faced before David Justice led off the fifth with a double.• The other came after his walk to lead off the ninth with the score tied at seven.• Then he violently shoved her down the small flight of stairs that led off their bedroom to the bathroom.• Newman spotted the track leading off to the right and swung away from the main road.• Andy leads off up large, friable flakes, hair plastered to his head but now mercifully sheltered.lead-offlead-off /ˈliːd ɒf $ -ɒːf/ adjective [only before noun] American English FIRSThappening or going first or before othersExamples from the Corpus
lead-off• Perez will be the lead-off batter for the Pirates. 