kick off — to begin an event or activity
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to start something, especially an event, meeting, or activity.
Say it like a native
Textbook The conference will formally commence at nine.
Native The conference kicks off at nine.
'Kick off' is the lively, natural verb for starting an event. 'Formally commence' is stiff.
Pattern: kick off (something) / kick (something) off
In use
- The conference will kick off at 9 a.m. with a welcome speech.daily life
- To kick off my presentation, I’d like to share a personal story that relates to the topic.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Let's kick off with the meeting.
✓ Let's kick off the meeting. / Let's kick off with introductions.
'Kick off + event' (start it), OR 'kick off WITH + the first item'. Don't say 'kick off with the meeting' when you mean start it.
Common collocations
kick off— the season, the campaign, proceedings, with a song
Don't confuse it
'Kick off' is less formal than 'commence' or 'begin'.