Dictionary.com

commence

[ kuh-mens ]
/ kÉ™Ėˆmɛns /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: commence / commenced / commencing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object), comĀ·menced, comĀ·mencĀ·ing.
to begin; start.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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 ā€œto beginā€; see initiate

synonym study for commence

See begin.

OTHER WORDS FROM commence

comĀ·menceĀ·aĀ·ble, adjectivecomĀ·mencĀ·er, nounreĀ·comĀ·mence, verb, reĀ·comĀ·menced, reĀ·comĀ·mencĀ·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use commence in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commence

commence
/ (kÉ™Ėˆmɛns) /

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 Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK