start out
Britishverb
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to set out on a journey
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to take the first steps, as in life, one's career, etc
he started out as a salesman
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to take the first actions in an activity in a particular way or specified aim
they started out wanting a house, but eventually bought a flat
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.
“Their emails start out, ‘You’re my last hope of not being a crippled, miserable, dead person,’ ” he said.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Just because you start out being a size 6, doesn't mean you'll remain a size 6.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
AI’s potential to transform Wall Street is especially apparent in banks’ lucrative investment-banking divisions, where future rainmakers often start out as junior analysts performing rote tasks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Shotwell, who grew up in a suburb north of Chicago, didn’t start out with ambitions that were tied to space.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
All budding artists start out on the level of craft by imitating other works of art.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
