kick off

verb kicks off · kicking off · kicked off

1. ambitransitive To make the first kick in a game or part of a game. The players kick off for the third quarter and the clock starts.
2. ambitransitive, idiomatic To start; to launch; to set in motion. Let's kick off this project with a planning meeting.

   Similar: start off

3. transitive To dismiss; to expel; to remove from a position. I got kicked off the team after a string of poor performances
4. US, colloquial, euphemistic, idiomatic, intransitive To die or quit permanently. It's a wonder that old dog hasn't kicked off yet.
5. US, idiomatic, intransitive To shut down or turn off suddenly. The washer was working fine until it kicked off in the middle of a cycle.
6. idiomatic, intransitive To suddenly become more active. The party kicked off when the third bottle of wine was opened.
7. US, idiomatic, slang, transitive To force the weaning of a bovine cow's calf by restricting the calf's access to its mother's udders, whether by literally kicking it away or another method. A week after we kicked off her calf that cow was still bawling.
8. UK, colloquial, idiomatic, intransitive To be overcome with anger, to start an argument or a fight; to behave aggressively. When she called him a drunk, it was the last straw. He just kicked off.
9. colloquial, idiomatic, impersonal, intransitive To have a fight or argument start; to fight or argue. It really kicked off in town when the team lost.