onset
Americannoun
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a beginning or start.
the onset of winter.
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an assault or attack.
an onset of the enemy.
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Phonetics. the segment of a syllable preceding the nucleus, as the gr in great.
noun
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an attack; assault
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a start; beginning
Etymology
Origin of onset
Compare meaning
How does onset compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When something is at its onset, it's at the beginning, just getting started, and it's often something that's not so pleasant. The onset of hurricane season is probably not the best time to visit the beach. If you catch an infection right at the onset and treat it immediately, the infection may not last so long. You can also have an early onset of something, and that usually means something you'd rather not have at all, as with early-onset Alzheimer's, a disease that usually appears after age 65. If you begin showing signs of the disease at a younger age than usual, you're said to have early-onset Alzheimer's.
Vocabulary lists containing onset
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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.
Plus, natural-gas prices surged in Europe and Asia but barely rose in the U.S., a price divergence that has saved U.S. consumers trillions since the onset of the shale revolution.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
“There is high confidence in the onset of El Niño, followed by further intensification in the months that follow,” Wilfran Moufouma-Okia, the organization’s chief of climate prediction, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
The government points to an improvement in growth, inflation and borrowing figures earlier this year, before the onset of the war in Iran.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Since the onset of the Iran war, prices at the pump have risen from an average of less than $3 per gallon to $4.48 per gallon nationwide on Tuesday, according to AAA External link.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
There are a few genuine adepts present who throw themselves rapturously into the music, eyes shut, arms upraised, waiting, no doubt, for the onset of glossolalia.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
