The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

kick off \kick` off"\ v. t.
   to begin; to commence; as, they kicked off the rally with a
   playing of the national anthem.

   Syn: begin, commence, start.
        [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

kick off \kick` off"\ v. i. (Football)
   To kick the football from the center of the field to start a
   football game or to resume it after a score; as, they kicked
   off at two o'clock.
   [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

kick off
    v 1: commence officially [syn: inaugurate, kick off]