onset

[on-set, awn-]

noun

1. a beginning or start.

   the onset of winter.

2. an assault or attack.

   an onset of the enemy.

3. Phonetics.,  the segment of a syllable preceding the nucleus, as the gr in great.

onset

/ ˈɒnˌsɛt /

noun

1. an attack; assault

2. a start; beginning

Word History and Origins

Origin of onset¹

1525–35; on + set, after the verb phrase set on

Example Sentences

The safety margin applied had been "negated by the unexpected onset of the large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground", he said.

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These insights may help guide earlier intervention and possibly prevent disease onset.

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Unsurprisingly adolescence starts around the onset of puberty, but this is the latest evidence suggesting it ends much later than we assumed.

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In their place are intravenous agents - most notably propofol, the hypnotic made infamous by Michael Jackson's death but prized in operating theatres for its rapid onset and clean recovery.

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With the onset of cold, wet weather, life has been getting harder.

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Related Words

• commencement 
• dawning 
• onslaught 
• outbreak 
• outset