kickoff
n. countablen. the start of a sports game, especially football, or the beginning of a new project or event. You use it to talk about the exact moment something gets moving.
n. the start of a match in certain sports, or the initial stage of a project or activity. Often used in business contexts to describe the first formal meeting of a team.
The kickoff for the championship game is at 8:00 PM.
We are holding a kickoff meeting on Monday to introduce the new team members and set our goals for the quarter.
While the technical kickoff occurred weeks ago, the public launch remains the true test of whether the marketing strategy will resonate with the target audience.
Deverbal from kick off.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often functions as a modifier in compound nouns like 'kickoff meeting' or 'kickoff event'.
The project will kickoff tomorrow.The project will kick off tomorrow.The single word 'kickoff' is a noun; the action requires the two-word phrasal verb 'kick off'.
Last updated May 6, 2026