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:
Asked what she would say to another woman who may fear her age, disability or health could get in the way of success, she says: "I would encourage them to just start."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Yamamoto exited after giving up three runs and four hits in the shortest start of his career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
But after a similarly unremarkable start to the same composer’s “Pines of Rome,” the evening’s final piece, Mr. Petrenko and the Berliners delivered the sonic blasts longed for all night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
I’d convinced myself that it would take too much time to start over, and that it wasn’t worth trying.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
“They don’t all have to start with A,” Tansy remarked.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
But New START, which expired on February 5, restricted the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each -- a number Washington says China is fast approaching.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 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, which limits the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 nuclear warheads, is set to expire on Feb. 5.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 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
Disenchantment starts slowly but can quickly go viral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
This week will see a wave of quarterly earnings reports as the season starts off in earnest with big Wall Street banks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
“FOMO starts to kick in. But you are not going to chase the names that are leading the market higher — you are going to go into some of the relative laggards.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
On Sunday, the scenario the Milwaukee Brewers most hoped to avoid comes true: Instead of starting for them in Game 1 of the NLCS, Tarik Skubal starts against them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The engine starts, wheels on gravel, headlights turning away from us, and the vehicle moves off.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
But downloads have started to slow and its retention lags that of ChatGPT after 14 days, Sensor Tower data shows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Soon, Wolf started performing at open-mic nights in Queens, trying to “psych” herself out of nerves onstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Kelly said she had been in daily pain for about three and a half years, though her symptoms started when she was a teenager.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
I’m not the same person I was when I first started this, and I often feel like I don’t recognize the person who first put finger to keyboard.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
One of the mule drivers started to move the armor, and Don Quixote cried out: "You evil creature! What are you doing?"
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Upper Great Highway joined the list after crowds flocked to a pandemic-era pilot project that temporarily banned cars on weekends, starting at noon Fridays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Oh, it’s OK,” the Dodgers would say, “because we can always slug to counteract it. And we have incredible starting pitching, so we can get away with it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
"I think she is starting from a position of such incredible disadvantage that just getting her to the starting line is incredibly difficult," her mum said.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Microsoft will deploy the Maia 300 AI system in its Azure cloud-computing facilities starting in 2027.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
It takes me a minute before I realize he’s starting his next turn.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
