commence

[ kuh-mens ]

verb (used with or without object)

, com·menced, com·menc·ing.

1. to begin; start.

   Synonyms: originate, initiate, inaugurate

commence

/ kəˈmɛns /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• comˈmencer, noun

Other Words From

• com·mence·a·ble adjective
• com·menc·er noun
• re·com·mence verb recommenced recommencing

Word History and Origins

Origin of commence¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English commencen, from Anglo-French, Middle French comencer, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin cominitiāre, equivalent to Latin com- com- + initiāre “to begin”; initiate

Word History and Origins

Origin of commence¹

C14: from Old French comencer, from Vulgar Latin cominitiāre (unattested), from Latin com- (intensive) + initiāre to begin, from initium a beginning

Synonym Study

See begin.

Example Sentences

The notion that you have the government waiting even two years — but certainly two decades — to commence forfeiture proceedings is, if not unprecedented, then extraordinarily rare.

From ProPublica

Just six months before the Olympics, as the AFCON tournament was about to commence in South Africa, Abacha ordered the national team to withdraw.

From Time

Sixteen months after Tokyo 2020 was initially postponed, the pandemic Games have commenced.

From Outside Online

To get there, it’s planning on scaling output at its CNT Plant 2 and commencing construction on a third CNT plant this year.

From TechCrunch

As it stands, the Games will commence on July 23, and sports media companies, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times and Yahoo Sports, are preparing to be as agile as the athletes.

From Digiday

But in order to commence rebuilding them from the ground up, the world must first put out the fires of this current epidemic.

From The Daily Beast

However, only days before early voting was to commence, a local judge ordered the polling station open.

From The Daily Beast

Led by Johan van Griensven, the study will commence in Guinea in the next three weeks.

From The Daily Beast

It builds to a masquerade ball, in which Not Harry and the women don masks and commence flirting.

From The Daily Beast

This weekend, the battle will commence when the “Moms” and their allies demonstrate outside the NRA Convention in Indianapolis.

From The Daily Beast

Murat was in no hurry to commence his reign, and his subjects showed no great anxiety to see their new ruler.

From Project Gutenberg

He granted her continuance at home, till the year of her noviciate; but that year must come, and it will commence next January.

From Project Gutenberg

When a hungry lion is watching for prey, the sight of any animal will make him commence stalking it.

From Project Gutenberg

They therefore proceeded to commence operations upon the agricultural constituencies.

From Project Gutenberg

Later on he notified the consular body that the bombardment would commence on the 12th of the month.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• begin
• inaugurate
• initiate
• launch
• take up