start
verb (used without object)
to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
start
1 American
[stahrt]
/ stɑrt /
verb (used without object)
-
starts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
started,
past participle, past
-
starting
present participle
-
to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
-
to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.
-
to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place.
The rabbit started from the bush.
-
to be among the entrants in a race or the initial participants in a game or contest.
-
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.
-
to protrude.
eyes seeming to start from their sockets.
-
to spring, slip, or work loose from place or fastenings, as timbers or other structural parts.
verb (used with object)
-
starts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
started,
past participle, past
-
starting
present participle
-
to set moving, going, or acting; to set in operation.
to start an automobile; to start a fire.
-
to establish or found.
to start a new business.
- Synonyms:
- institute
-
to begin work on.
to start a book.
-
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.
-
to cause or choose to be an entrant in a game or contest.
He started his ace pitcher in the crucial game.
-
to cause (an object) to work loose from place or fastenings.
-
to rouse (game) from its lair or covert; flush.
-
to draw or discharge (liquid or other contents) from a vessel or container; empty (a container).
-
Archaic. to cause to twitch, jump, or flinch involuntarily; startle.
noun
-
starts
plural
-
a beginning of an action, journey, etc.
- Synonyms:
- onset, commencement
-
a signal to move, proceed, or begin, as on a course or in a race.
-
a place or time from which something begins.
-
the first part or beginning segment of anything.
The start of the book was good but the last half was dull.
-
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.
-
a sudden, springing movement from a position.
-
a sudden, involuntary jerking movement of the body.
to awake with a start.
-
a lead or advance of specified amount, as over competitors or pursuers.
-
the position or advantage of one who starts first.
The youngest child should have the start over the rest.
-
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.
-
a spurt of activity.
-
a starting of parts from their place or fastenings in a structure.
-
the resulting break or opening.
-
an outburst or sally, as of emotion, wit, or fancy.
START
2
American
[stahrt]
/ stɑrt /
noun
start
1
British
/ stɑːt /
verb
-
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
-
to make or cause to make a beginning of (a process, series of actions, etc)
they started on the project
-
(sometimes foll by up) to set or be set in motion
he started up the machine
-
(intr) to make a sudden involuntary movement of one's body, from or as if from fright; jump
-
(intr; sometimes foll by up, away, etc) to spring or jump suddenly from a position or place
-
to establish or be established; set up
to start a business
-
(tr) to support (someone) in the first part of a venture, career, etc
-
to work or cause to work loose
-
to enter or be entered in a race
-
(intr) to flow violently from a source
wine started from a hole in the cask
-
(tr) to rouse (game) from a hiding place, lair, etc
-
(intr) (esp of eyes) to bulge; pop
-
an archaic word for startle
-
informal (intr) to commence quarrelling or causing a disturbance
-
in the first place
noun
-
the first or first part of a series of actions or operations, a journey, etc
-
the place or time of starting, as of a race or performance
-
a signal to proceed, as in a race
-
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
-
a slight involuntary movement of the body, as through fright, surprise, etc
she gave a start as I entered
-
an opportunity to enter a career, undertake a project, etc
-
informal a surprising incident
-
a part that has come loose or been disengaged
-
spasmodically; without concerted effort
-
in the first place
START
2
British
/ stɑːt /
acronym
start
Idioms
Synonym Usage
See begin.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
startsimple
-
startssimple
-
have startedperfect
-
has startedperfect
-
am startingprogressive
-
are startingprogressive
-
is startingprogressive
-
have been startingperfect progressive
-
has been startingperfect progressive
Past
-
startedsimple
-
had startedperfect
-
was startingprogressive
-
were startingprogressive
-
had been startingperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing start
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.
See Examples For:
Investors may start to demand a higher “uncertainty premium” in Treasury bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s keynote address in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is due to start at 10 a.m.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
But now the time has come to close this chapter and start a new one.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
That led him to attend massage school — not to start a career as a massage therapist, he said, but to learn how to give back to others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
That wasn’t a lot, but it would have been a good start.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
“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
New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is set to expire, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the United States, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
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
The free AI program starts beta testing in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Like Pablo, Alexander is also about to take on a new milestone, when he starts secondary school.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
CEO Scott Kirby told me it’s at the top of his personal list of new places to visit after the service starts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
When positioning in futures markets starts to look stretched in either direction, it could signal that a reversal is imminent.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
He starts to turn but I call out before I can second-guess what I’m doing.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
One possible explanation may trace back to an algorithm overhaul Instagram completed just a year ago, around the time Japan’s energy-generating footsteps started gaining more virtual traction.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company has started a search for its next CFO, and is evaluating both internal and external candidates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Edge rusher Wesley Bailey, who made a big impression in the first two preseason games, started against the Chargers but played only two snaps and had one quarterback pressure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
"Since we've started producing the harm reduction messages, there's a lot more trust and confidence from the young people who are happier to engage with our volunteers," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Maybe Gramma Liz mentioned something to my cousin, the stranger, because Jillian started talking about Twilight.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
And despite the Rams’ second drive starting at the Chargers’ 14-yard line, the defense limited the damage to three points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
"It's a real sense of people starting to understand what the sacrifice of policing is."
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
EBay is banning the sale of air bags and air-bag parts on its website, starting Sept. 24.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
He also expects that the company’s custom-chip business will see “a significant acceleration” starting in the second half of fiscal 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
It was starting to feel a bit overambitious.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
