leadoff

[ leed-awf, -of ]

noun

1. an act that starts something; start; beginning.
2. Baseball. the player who is first in the batting order or who is first to bat for a team in an inning.

Word History and Origins

Origin of leadoff¹

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase lead off

Example Sentences

As the summer progressed, he quietly got stronger and faster, smoothly making the transition to leadoff hitter and base stealer, hitting a dozen home runs in June, stealing a dozen bases in July, all while rehabbing a surgically repaired pitching shoulder.

From Los Angeles Times

March 18, in Tokyo, against the Chicago Cubs, starting on the mound and batting leadoff … Shohei Ohtani!

From Los Angeles Times

In Buehler’s Game 3 start, for example, he ran into trouble in the fourth inning, giving up a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton.

From Los Angeles Times

Gleyber Torres, 28, 2B, Octagon: Torres found new life after moving to leadoff in late August, posting an OPS of .856 down the stretch and into the postseason for the Yankees.

From Los Angeles Times

New York ace Gerrit Cole needed only 49 pitches to cruise through four hitless innings, and his defense actually saved a potential run in the fourth when Judge, with Betts aboard after a leadoff walk, raced to the wall in left-center field to make a leaping catch of a Freddie Freeman drive before slamming into the wall.

From Los Angeles Times