start off

phrasal verb

started off; starting off; starts off

1

: to start or cause (something) to start in a specified way

He started off by introducing himself.

She started off (her run) at a slow jog.

The performance started off badly.

—often + with

I started off my speech with a joke.

We started off the meal with shrimp cocktails.

The team started the season off with a 10-game winning streak.

2

: to have a specified quality, identity, job, etc., at the start

She started off as a sales assistant but is now the marketing director.

3

: to begin an important period in one's life or career

The house is perfect for a couple just starting off.

4

: to begin to move toward a particular place or in a particular direction

She ate breakfast before starting off for work.

5

: to cause (someone) to begin doing a particular activity or action

He started his daughter off on the piano.

The game-show host started her off with some easy questions.

Examples of start off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2021, Pulido started off healthy and in form, still earning call-ups with the Mexico National Team for his play with Sporting. —Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025

Unlike our northern hemisphere on Earth, on the Red Planet, the new year starts off with the beginning of the spring season. —Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 6 Jan. 2025

While the day started off slow, the stock market found its rhythm as the session progressed. —Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 6 Jan. 2025

On a practical level, the cases generally start off as perfunctory and repetitive — some drug overdoses, some maladies impacting the unhoused community and lots of workplace injuries. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Jan. 2025