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• start
  start

  verb (used without object)

  to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
• START
  START

  noun

  Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

start

¹ American  

[stahrt] / stɑrt /

verb (used without object)

• starts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• started,
  past participle,  past
• starting
  present participle

1. to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.

2. to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.

3. to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place.

   The rabbit started from the bush.

4. to be among the entrants in a race or the initial participants in a game or contest.

5. to give a sudden, involuntary jerk, jump, or twitch, as from a shock of surprise, alarm, or pain.

   The sudden clap of thunder caused everyone to start.

6. to protrude.

   eyes seeming to start from their sockets.

7. to spring, slip, or work loose from place or fastenings, as timbers or other structural parts.

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verb (used with object)

• starts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• started,
  past participle,  past
• starting
  present participle

1. to set moving, going, or acting; to set in operation.

   to start an automobile; to start a fire.

2. to establish or found.

   to start a new business.

   Synonyms:

   institute

3. to begin work on.

   to start a book.

   Antonyms:

   terminate, end

4. to enable or help (someone) set out on a journey, a career, or the like.

   The record started the young singer on the road to stardom.

5. to cause or choose to be an entrant in a game or contest.

   He started his ace pitcher in the crucial game.

6. to cause (an object) to work loose from place or fastenings.

7. to rouse (game) from its lair or covert; flush.

8. to draw or discharge (liquid or other contents) from a vessel or container; empty (a container).

9. Archaic. to cause to twitch, jump, or flinch involuntarily; startle.

noun

• starts
  plural

1. a beginning of an action, journey, etc.

   Synonyms:

   onset, commencement

2. a signal to move, proceed, or begin, as on a course or in a race.

3. a place or time from which something begins.

4. the first part or beginning segment of anything.

   The start of the book was good but the last half was dull.

5. an instance of being a participant in a race or an initial participant in a game or contest.

   The horse won his first two starts.

6. a sudden, springing movement from a position.

7. a sudden, involuntary jerking movement of the body.

   to awake with a start.

   Synonyms:

   jump, twitch

8. a lead or advance of specified amount, as over competitors or pursuers.

9. the position or advantage of one who starts first.

   The youngest child should have the start over the rest.

10. a chance, opportunity, aid, or encouragement given to one starting on a course or career.

    The bride's parents gave the couple a start by buying them a house.

11. a spurt of activity.

12. a starting of parts from their place or fastenings in a structure.

13. the resulting break or opening.

14. an outburst or sally, as of emotion, wit, or fancy.

START ² American  

[stahrt] / stɑrt /

noun

1. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

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start ¹ British  

/ stɑːt /

verb

1. to begin or cause to begin (something or to do something); come or cause to come into being, operation, etc

   he started a quarrel

   they started to work

2. to make or cause to make a beginning of (a process, series of actions, etc)

   they started on the project

3. (sometimes foll by up) to set or be set in motion

   he started up the machine

4. (intr) to make a sudden involuntary movement of one's body, from or as if from fright; jump

5. (intr; sometimes foll by up, away, etc) to spring or jump suddenly from a position or place

6. to establish or be established; set up

   to start a business

7. (tr) to support (someone) in the first part of a venture, career, etc

8. to work or cause to work loose

9. to enter or be entered in a race

10. (intr) to flow violently from a source

    wine started from a hole in the cask

11. (tr) to rouse (game) from a hiding place, lair, etc

12. (intr) (esp of eyes) to bulge; pop

13. an archaic word for startle

14. informal (intr) to commence quarrelling or causing a disturbance

15. in the first place

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noun

1. the first or first part of a series of actions or operations, a journey, etc

2. the place or time of starting, as of a race or performance

3. a signal to proceed, as in a race

4. a lead or advantage, either in time or distance and usually of specified extent, in a competitive activity

   he had an hour's start on me

5. a slight involuntary movement of the body, as through fright, surprise, etc

   she gave a start as I entered

6. an opportunity to enter a career, undertake a project, etc

7. informal a surprising incident

8. a part that has come loose or been disengaged

9. spasmodically; without concerted effort

10. in the first place

START ² British  

/ stɑːt /

acronym

1. Strategic Arms Reduction Talks

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start Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing start

• (start) from scratch
• false start
• fits and starts
• for openers (starters)
• from soup to nuts (start to finish)
• get off the ground (to a flying start)
• head start
• running start
• to start with

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Synonym Usage

See begin.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misstart
  verb
• restart
  verb
• nonstarting
  adjective
• unstarted
  adjective
• unstarting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• starts
  plural

Participles

• starting
  present
• started
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• start
  simple
• starts
  simple
• have started
  perfect
• has started
  perfect
• am starting
  progressive
• are starting
  progressive
• is starting
  progressive
• have been starting
  perfect progressive
• has been starting
  perfect progressive

Past

• started
  simple
• had started
  perfect
• was starting
  progressive
• were starting
  progressive
• had been starting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will start
  simple
• will have started
  perfect
• will be starting
  progressive
• will have been starting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of start

First recorded before 1150; Middle English verb sterte(n), stirte(n), “to rush out, leap” (cognate with Middle High German sterzen ); replacing Old English styrtan (attested once), cognate with German stürzen; noun derivative of the verb

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Explanation

The beginning of something is the start. The start of the movie may have been a little slow, but by the end you were on the edge of your seat. As a verb, start means to begin an activity or event. Some people turn to the last page of a book before they even start it, so they'll be prepared for the ending. Start can also mean to move suddenly in surprise or alarm, or to startle. This is actually the original meaning of the word start, which comes from the Old English word styrtan, meaning to caper or to leap up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

start START starts started starting

"Sentiment towards technology has improved as investors assess Anthropic's IPO filing at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's rate decision," wrote Fiona Cincotta at FOREX.com.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Ensign Pavel Chekov first appeared in the iconic series at the start of its second season, in 1967.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

One need not support the decision to start the war to reach that conclusion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Sheeran then addressed the controversy during the start of a gig in Philadelphia.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Some ancient redesigning of the house had left a crawl space in that corner and we’d been secreting jewelry, silver coins, and other valuables there since the start of the occupation.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

“We understand that this process can take time. Past agreements, including New START, took years to negotiate and were built upon decades of precedent,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as "New START" and signed in 2010 was one of a handful of agreements designed to help prevent a catastrophic nuclear war.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

A likely result of the changing landscape is the lapse of New START, which sets weapon limits and includes inspection systems.

From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025

“It’s been really good at evolving with the times and current events,” said Sheehan Kane, data collection manager for the University of Maryland-based Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

He told us he had then on these mountains 15,000 head of dear, and thought we might like to see a START, as it is called.

From Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft

Its 13 turbines are the last in a chain of hydroelectric stations that starts in the wilderness about 150 miles upstream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Basic pay for consultants starts at £113,500 a year with the most experienced paid £150,500.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

My ideal meal starts with snacking on some gyoza and kimchi before dropping sliced lamb and Udon noodles into KPot’s spicy Szechuan soup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

One of the most crucial weeks of third-quarter earnings season starts Monday — giving corporate America a chance to shake the bad vibes out of the stock market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026

The engine starts, wheels on gravel, headlights turning away from us, and the vehicle moves off.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Earlier this month, it started selling tickets for its new domestic first-class section.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

People were playing with the term - and idea - for decades before Clavicular started posting videos.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Perkins envisaged an investor in 2030, looking back on 2026 as the year when things started to look a bit rotten below the surface.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

However, he quit before the season started, gave it another shot the following spring and quit again before the 2016 season began.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Now that I had started school it was only in the summer that I could go with him.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

A lot can happen in your 30s: building a career, starting a family, helping aging parents, paying down a mortgage.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

“We expect some pilot projects for specific tasks to gradually convert into broader deployments starting in 2027, although the pace of scaling remains uncertain,” the bank says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

But while the World Cup spectre looms large, there is plenty to play for between now and then, starting with the resumption of the inaugural Nations Championship in November.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Opening weekend was just a starting point for Laika.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

If I were at camp, I’d be starting breakfast.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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Related Words

• appear
• begin
• commence
• create
• establish
• found
• inaugurate
• initiate
• introduce
• issue
• launch
• leave
• open
• set up

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