commence

[ kuh-mens ]

/ kəˈmɛns /

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See synonyms for: commence / commenced / commencing on Thesaurus.com

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

to begin; start.

OTHER WORDS FOR commence

inaugurate, initiate, originate.

See synonyms for commence on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of commence

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”; see initiate

synonym study for commence

See begin.

OTHER WORDS FROM commence

com·mence·a·ble, adjectivecom·menc·er, nounre·com·mence, verb, re·com·menced, re·com·menc·ing.

Words nearby commence

comme il faut, commemorate, commemoration, commemorative, commemoratory, commence, commenced, commencement, commencing, commend, commendable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use commence in a sentence

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.
Massachusetts Police Can Easily Seize Your Money. The DA of One County Makes It Nearly Impossible to Get It Back.|by Saurabh Datar and Shannon Dooling, WBUR|August 18, 2021|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.
25 Years Ago, Nigeria’s Super Eagles Won Olympic Gold—and Changed the World of African Soccer|Kovie Biakolo|August 2, 2021|Time
Sixteen months after Tokyo 2020 was initially postponed, the pandemic Games have commenced.
The Irresistible Aura of the Olympics|mmirhashem|July 30, 2021|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.
LG Chem will invest $5.2B in battery materials through 2025|Aria Alamalhodaei|July 14, 2021|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.
Media Briefing: How sports publishers are handling this year’s Olympics|Tim Peterson|June 24, 2021|Digiday
But in order to commence rebuilding them from the ground up, the world must first put out the fires of this current epidemic.
Millions Promised for Ebola Not Adding Up|Abby Haglage|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, only days before early voting was to commence, a local judge ordered the polling station open.
In North Carolina, GOP Overreach May Be More Unpopular Than Obama|Dean Obeidallah|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Led by Johan van Griensven, the study will commence in Guinea in the next three weeks.
Blood Is Ebola’s Weapon and Weakness|Abby Haglage|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It builds to a masquerade ball, in which Not Harry and the women don masks and commence flirting.
You Really Don't Want to Watch Fox’s ‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’|Jason Lynch|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This weekend, the battle will commence when the “Moms” and their allies demonstrate outside the NRA Convention in Indianapolis.
The NRA’s Worst Nightmare Is America’s Moms|Dean Obeidallah|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Murat was in no hurry to commence his reign, and his subjects showed no great anxiety to see their new ruler.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
He granted her continuance at home, till the year of her noviciate; but that year must come, and it will commence next January.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
When a hungry lion is watching for prey, the sight of any animal will make him commence stalking it.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
They therefore proceeded to commence operations upon the agricultural constituencies.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Later on he notified the consular body that the bombardment would commence on the 12th of the month.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

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

commence

OTHER WORDS FOR commence

Origin of commence

synonym study for commence

OTHER WORDS FROM commence

Words nearby commence

Words related to commence

How to use commence in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commence

Derived forms of commence

Word Origin for commence