begin
verb (used without object)
to proceed to perform the first or earliest part of some action; commence; start.
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begin
1 American
[bih-gin]
/ bɪˈgɪn /
verb (used without object)
-
begins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
began,
past
-
begun,
past participle
-
beginning
present participle
-
to proceed to perform the first or earliest part of some action; commence; start.
The story begins with their marriage.
- Antonyms:
- end
-
to come into existence; arise; originate.
The custom began during the Civil War.
verb (used with object)
-
begins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
began,
past
-
begun,
past participle
-
beginning
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- initiate, inaugurate, institute
-
to succeed to the slightest extent in (followed by an infinitive).
The money won't even begin to cover expenses.
Begin
2
American
[bey-gin]
/ ˈbeɪ gɪn /
noun
begin
1
British
/ bɪˈɡɪn /
verb
-
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
2
British
/ ˈbɛɡɪn /
noun
begin
Idioms
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
beginsimple
-
beginssimple
-
have begunperfect
-
has begunperfect
-
am beginningprogressive
-
are beginningprogressive
-
is beginningprogressive
-
have been beginningperfect progressive
-
has been beginningperfect progressive
Past
-
begansimple
-
had begunperfect
-
was beginningprogressive
-
were beginningprogressive
-
had been beginningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of begin
First recorded before 1000; Middle English beginnen, Old English beginnan, equivalent to be- be- + -ginnan “to begin,” perhaps originally “to open,” akin to yawn
Explanation
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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Illness can’t obliterate identity when it’s part of our identity to begin with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
You’d want to underweight stocks so long as you believe interest rates will continue rising, but overweight them once you think that a rate-cut cycle is about to begin.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The General Debate - the centrepiece of the annual event - is due to begin on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Trump and Xi agreed to begin talks on AI safety during the U.S. president’s visit to Beijing this spring, suggesting a strategic alignment could emerge to address the threat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
I’m not sure how long Elliot and I sat there, lost in our own thoughts as we waited for a professor to begin the class, before I realized that we were the only ones waiting.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Begin in the same starting position as exercise No. 3.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Begin with simple, basic questions that are caring, genuinely curious and not intrusive, says Heather Winslow‑Walker, director of Truist Bank’s Center for Family Legacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
By rapidly distributing footage of troops entering the fortress, the military echoed a famous 1982 image showing then-defence minister Ariel Sharon and prime minister Menahem Begin at the same spot.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Begin with Kewpie mayonnaise — richer, silkier, faintly sweet, and unapologetically egg-forward.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
Begin by learning the song and performing it in unison.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The process begins by directing antimuons from PSI's accelerator into a thin layer of superfluid helium.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
The main tailgate party begins at 10:00 - seven hours before kick-off - serving authentic Kansas barbecue food, and there will be cheerleaders and marching bands on Wembley Way.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Bank of Japan 8301 -2.29%decrease; red down pointing triangle begins its two-day policy board meeting on Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The angle of the camera begins to descend and Moreno is heard asking “You can’t pull up?” before the video cuts out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The upper plate begins to bend, curving at the fault and forming a deep ocean trench.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
With demand for its data-center components surging, Coherent reported revenue of $7.1 billion in the fiscal year ending June 2026, up 114% from its fiscal year ending June 2022, the year the AI frenzy began.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
In Omaha, he cycled through various careers: He started his own excavating business, then began farming, with Warren Buffett later purchasing a farm for him to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
He began opening small nurseries, staffed by volunteers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Roberts began to follow the young sensation, hoping to capture his rise on camera.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Max flipped it back out to me as Sadie was finishing with the last of her customers and the people coming in for the midnight movies began to snag their seats.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Court documents show that treatment had already begun before he was sentenced.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He’d already begun to work on a podcast and possible documentary about the case when he asked me, an old acquaintance, to partner with him.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The debacle had begun when Moore threw an interception on the very first play from scrimmage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Leading AI companies in the United States have begun using their most advanced models to train new ones, in a process known as recursive self-improvement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Not quite dinner, but an hour in which Mrs. Dannenberg would likely have begun preparing for the evening meal.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
She also called out Disneyland for its exhaust-spewing Autopia attraction, along with former Times climate columnist Sammy Roth, and Disneyland responded by announcing in 2024 that it was switching to electric cars beginning in 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
That brings me back to the incident many years ago, as I stood in the Russian woods with my friend, underdressed and with my teeth beginning to chatter.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Damien Corvin believes the gap between starting out in Northern Ireland and building a career is beginning to narrow.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
German zeppelins had been filled with hydrogen from the beginning, and, by 1937, after hundreds of commercial flights, boasted a perfect safety record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Charlie asked me, beginning to rifle through Tansy’s eats.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
