start
verb (used without object)
to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
have been starting
-
present perfect progressiveof start.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
“People have been starting to come back home, and they need something good to focus on.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
For the last decade, Heartbeat Opera has treated the classics like rough drafts: The scores of “Carmen” and “Madama Butterfly,” “Fidelio” and “Der Freischütz” have been starting points for something fresh, urgent and immediate.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
Several freshmen have been starting, including long-stick midfielder Sebastian Quintana and defenseman Bennett Wolfe.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2023
But the way Spurs have been starting so many games this season so badly, surely they need to take more risks from the off?
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2023
In that period, Saharans began to tend cattle and make pottery, then to keep sheep and goats, and they may also have been starting to domesticate sorghum and millet.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
