Synonyms

commenced

American

[kuh-menst] / kəˈmɛnst /

adjective

started or begun.

The newly commenced shipping service will provide customers with safer and faster cargo movement.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of commence.

Other Word Forms

uncommenced adjective
well-commenced adjective

Etymology

Origin of commenced

commence + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By the time hostilities commenced in the Middle East it had halved, and Michael Saylor’s bitcoin vehicle suffered an even more vertiginous drop, from north of $450 last summer to a February trough of $106.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Since then, police and a special agency set up to look into the matter have commenced dozens of investigations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Shares are at their highest level since they commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2020.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Many Americans were still in the region as hostilities commenced, and were left with little help from both the State Department and U.S. embassies.

From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026

She stood straight up, shaded her eyes with her right hand, then threw the rake to the side and commenced running at me.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023