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kickoff

nounB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,168 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: kickoffs

The kickoff is the first touch of the ball that starts the match. Before kickoff, the three o'clock kickoff, delay the kickoff.

It also names the starting time, which is why people ask when kickoff is rather than what it is. In business a kickoff meeting is the one that starts a project, and the metaphor has spread far beyond sport.

Ben Stanfield (user name acaben) of flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0

Definitions of kickoff

  1. 1nounkickoffThe first touch of the ball that starts the match.B1+

    “The referee blew his whistle for kickoff, and the crowd roared.”

kickoff is a start.

Also accepted in games: kick-off

Where it comes from

Deverbal from kick off.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Sports & Fitness

Practise this word

kickoff in the wild

  • A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football.

    Kickoff (gridiron football)

  • A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football.

    Kickoff specialist

  • Dedicated kickoff specialists that handle only kickoff duties are now seldomly-used.

    Kickoff specialist

  • As a versatile utility player, he is also a kickoff returner and occasionally a wide receiver.

    Cordarrelle Patterson

  • The number of kickoff return yards a player makes is a recorded statistic in football games.

    List of NFL annual kickoff return yards leaders

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.