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:
Paul and his family are now hoping to find a permanent home to begin rebuilding their life.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Because young protoplanets generally begin hot and gradually cool as they age, this result creates a potentially important link between the timing of the giant impact and the way the Moon initially formed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
As adults, we begin to recognize them for what they are: traces of lives lived before us, of losses and experiences that continue to echo across generations.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
And as you begin to open or close the iPhone Duo, the interface shifts the controls and content away from the center crease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
When she tells us this, my knees begin to feel weak.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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 Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, part of the group that owns the Dodgers and Sparks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Begin with Kewpie mayonnaise — richer, silkier, faintly sweet, and unapologetically egg-forward.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
Begin with the obvious fact: He’s got the vocal chops.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025
Begin when all the rest who left behind them headlong death in battle or at sea had long ago returned, while he alone still hungered for home and wife.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Though the hosts are heavy favourites to earn a 3-0 clean sweep, the carnage of the final session was an alarming spell as Joe Root begins his second spell as captain.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
That problem-solving begins long before Saturdays, when Smith hones his particular set of skills in sessions that might otherwise look like goofing off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Perhaps that disorientation comes from the way the brand moves through time, pulling from references without necessarily revealing where one begins and another ends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The goal is to make the first decisions before an emergency begins, rather than after the sea starts behaving strangely.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Ama begins sliding toward the window as well, and Autumn reaches out to grab her ankle.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Europol tells the BBC the number of museum theft cases reported to them across Europe began to increase about two years ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The summit began with an assumption: AI will become superhuman at math.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
“The long-existing California license plate 9-series configuration, which began with 1AAA000 in 1980, ended with the production of the 9ZZZ999 plate this year,” said Ronald Ongtoaboc, spokesperson for the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Titled “Baby Busts and Growth Booms: Demographic Change and the Macroeconomy,” the study began circulating in academic circles this summer.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
He had not taken his eyes off me, so I began to pull on my clothes over my pajamas, ears straining for a sound from the secret room.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Drawing on evidence she stated that the department had begun outsourcing its backlog, but that this was in its infancy.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
MarketWatch wrote in March 2025 that he thought such a market surge had begun.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Pepe Barton, the conservancy’s director of communications, confirmed that work had begun this week, shortly after legal challenges to stop the culling were shot down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Space and defense-oriented startups have begun to pop up in South Florida, too, including Space-Eyes, a geospatial intelligence and counterdrone technology company that recently brought on Eric Trump as an investor and strategic adviser.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
“There was only one logical explanation. The Germans had begun using a machine to generate ciphers.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
About 24 percent of subscribers on Russia's Megafon mobile network at the beginning of 2026 were iPhone users, Megafon said in April.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Airlines continued to trot out 2027 Europe routes, with La Compagnie announcing service between Newark and Düsseldorf beginning in the spring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Reduced flexibility can be an early sign that the heart is beginning to function less effectively.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
At the most basic level, a fever is the body’s response to something unknown, the beginning of a complex process that targets an infection to ultimately kill it.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Now, perhaps, was the beginning of his three days of rest.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
