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commence

[ kuh-mens ]
/ kəˈmɛns /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR commence

verb (used with or without object), com·menced, com·menc·ing.

to begin; start.

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Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
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Origin of commence

1250–1300; Middle English commencen<Anglo-French, Middle French comencer<Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre, equivalent to Latin com-com- + initiāre to begin; see initiate

synonym study for commence

See begin.

OTHER WORDS FROM commence

Words nearby commence

comme il faut, commemorate, commemoration, commemorative, commemoratory, commence, commencement, commend, commendable, commendam, commendation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to commence

initiate, begin, inaugurate, take up, launch, originate, open, arise, enter upon, get cracking, get going, hit the ground running, jump into, kick off, lead off, start the ball rolling, tear into, get one's feet wet

Example sentences from the Web for commence

British Dictionary definitions for commence

commence
/ (kəˈmɛns) /

verb

to start or begin; come or cause to come into being, operation, etc

Derived forms of commence

commencer, noun

Word Origin for commence

C14: from Old French comencer, from Vulgar Latin cominitiāre (unattested), from Latin com- (intensive) + initiāre to begin, from initium a beginning
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012