to proceed to perform the first or earliest part of some action; commence; start.
The story begins with their marriage.
to come into existence; arise; originate.
The custom began during the Civil War.
to proceed to perform the first or earliest part of (some action).
Begin the job tomorrow.
to originate; be the originator of.
civic leaders who began the reform movement.
to succeed to the slightest extent in (followed by an infinitive).
The money won't even begin to cover expenses.
to start or cause to start (something or to do something)
to bring or come into being for the first time; arise or originate
to start to say or speak
(used with a negative) to have the least capacity (to do something)
he couldn't begin to compete with her
in the first place
Begin, commence, initiate, start (when followed by noun or gerund) refer to setting into motion or progress something that continues for some time. Begin is the common term: to begin knitting a sweater. Commence is a more formal word, often suggesting a more prolonged or elaborate beginning: to commence proceedings in court. Initiate implies an active and often ingenious first act in a new field: to initiate a new procedure. Start means to make a first move or to set out on a course of action: to start paving a street.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English beginnen, Old English beginnan, equivalent to be- be- + -ginnan “to begin,” perhaps originally “to open,” akin to yawn
To begin is to start. When it begins to snow, every flake looks pretty, drifting gently down from the dark sky. When you begin something, you go ahead with its first part or stage — you can begin the day with a good attitude, or begin a very long book over and over again, always falling asleep before you get to chapter two. You also might begin a journey by lacing up your hiking boots. Things also begin when they have a specific element as a first part, as when a word begins with the letter T.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He didn't begin the week planning to resign", said a colleague.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
As Kevin Warsh got ready to begin his term as Federal Reserve chair on Friday, the bond market was already anticipating interest-rate increases by the central bank, as Joy Wiltermuth explained.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
Construction could begin as early as September 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Subsidiary Atomic Alchemy secured a license to begin sales from its radiochemistry laboratory in Idaho, and noted that its first isotope customer was “pending.”
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Let’s begin this story just before that happened.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
