start from scratch
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was going to rip up the Wolverines’ roster and start from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
After his boyfriend dies tragically, Rowan is forced to start from scratch, mourning the dream of the life he once had alongside his partner and trying to rent out his now-spare bedroom.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
If no action is taken by May 13, the legislation will expire and the process will have to start from scratch, she added.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Her oldest daughter is in transitional kindergarten and out of day care, meaning that Quintanilla had to start from scratch on the waitlist.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026
When Descartes produced his study of the rainbow he had to start from scratch, despite the fact that he was very largely simply repeating the work both of Theodoric and of al-Farisi.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
