Showing results for "beginning"

• present participle of begin.

beginning

American  

[bih-gin-ing] / bɪˈgɪn ɪŋ /

noun

• beginnings
  plural

1. an act or circumstance of entering upon an action or state.

   the beginning of hostilities.

   Synonyms:

   inception, inauguration, initiation

   Antonyms:

   ending

2. the point of time or space at which anything begins.

   the beginning of the Christian era; the beginning of the route.

   Synonyms:

   emergence, onset, outset, commencement, start

   Antonyms:

   end

3. the first part.

   the beginning of the book; the beginning of the month.

4. Often beginnings. the initial stage or part of anything.

   the beginnings of science.

5. origin; source; first cause.

   A misunderstanding about the rent was the beginning of their quarrel.

---

adjective

1. just formed.

   a beginning company.

2. first; opening.

   the beginning chapters of a book.

3. basic or introductory.

   beginning Spanish.

4. learning the fundamentals.

   a beginning swimmer.

beginning British  

/ bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ /

noun

1. a start; commencement

2. (often plural) a first or early part or stage

3. the place where or time when something starts

4. an origin; source

---

Usage

Spelling tips for beginning The word beginning is hard to spell for two reasons. It doesn't simply combine the base word (begin) with the suffix -ing, as is done in other easy-to-remember words that end in -ing, like starting and talking. Also, it can be tempting to use a double g (beggining) instead of a double n. How to spell beginning: To spell beginning, you take the base word begin and add an n at the end. Then, add the suffix -ing. Why do you need an extra n? Because you should begin right Now.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• beginnings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beginning

First recorded in 1175–1225, beginning is from the Middle English word beginnung, begonning. See begin, -ing ¹

Explanation

The beginning is the first part or section of something, or the place where it starts. You watch the opening credits at the beginning of a movie. "In the beginning," says the beginning of the Bible, "God created the heavens and the earth." Beginning can mean the act of starting something (the day after Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season), or it can mean the time when something will start (Beginning at noon, all Christmas ornaments will go on sale.) Beginning can also refer to the origin of something, its root or source, as the beginning of the Mississippi River is Lake Itasca, Minnesota.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beginning beginnings

There, Hodgkinson improved her British record off the back of a training block focused on developing her 400m speed, before beginning her 800m-specific work leading into the summer's main targets.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

We enrolled in Affordable Care Act insurance beginning March 1.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

In the beginning of 2025, Taylor Olin had decided she’d seen enough of Echo Park and decided to relocate to a cozy ranch up in Altadena.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

He said the Rocha indictments were “just the beginning of what is to come in Mexico.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

She was a girl who came into my class after the beginning of the year and was only there for a couple of weeks or so.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

A study published in Nature now offers a possible explanation for how caregiving emerged from those distant, nonparental beginnings.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

In Episode 3 of By the People, equal-marriage campaign architect Marc Solomon joins Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern to trace the movement’s “quixotic” beginnings in 2001.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

“This is about building the next generation studio, so we think of this as the beginnings of Paramount, of Warner Bros., of those great studios,” Simpson said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

He said he wrote the piece to "honour my humble beginnings", adding "I am the son of my father, the baker".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

From the beginnings of literacy in China, it has had only a single writing system, whereas modern Europe uses dozens of modified alphabets.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• birth
• creation
• dawn
• inauguration
• inception
• introduction
• onset
• opening
• outset
• starting point
• top