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Business English vocabulary · Office Idioms and Phrases

Get the ball rolling

Meaning in business english, with examples

idiomCommon term

In business english, get the ball rolling means: To start an activity, process or discussion, often by being the first person to do or say something.

In Turkish: işi başlatmak, ilk adımı atmak, harekete geçirmek

How it is used

Informal and friendly. Common at the start of meetings and projects: 'To get the ball rolling, let's hear from sales.' Variants: 'start the ball rolling' (UK) and 'keep the ball rolling' (keep things moving).

Example sentences

  1. To get the ball rolling, could each of you share one idea?

  2. Let's get the ball rolling on the new website so we can launch in spring.

Common collocations

  • get the ball rolling on something
  • to get the ball rolling
  • keep the ball rolling
  • start the ball rolling
  • kick-off meetingThe first meeting of a project or partnership, where the team and the client agree on goals, roles, scope and the timeline.
  • low-hanging fruitTasks, problems or opportunities that are easy to deal with and bring quick results, so they are usually tackled first.
  • back to the drawing boardUsed when a plan or idea has failed or been rejected and you have to start again and come up with a new one.
  • drop the ballTo make a mistake by forgetting or failing to do something that you were responsible for.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

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