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:
"If suddenly people go out and they start consuming that diesel, that depletes their available supply as well," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
"These hearing tests give us that baseline and allow us to start asking how noises from ships, boats, aircraft and coastal construction might affect seals and sea lions."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Gate agents now start making announcements earlier when a flight is oversold, including explaining why and mentioning compensation options right away for volunteering to take a later flight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A 35-year-old reader of my newsletter asked me an unusual question this week: “Should I start buying Treasurys?”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And I need to finish painting the doorjambs, start my makeup assignments, and find time to take Mav to the park.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
“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
New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is due to expire on Thursday, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 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
Allowing inspections of weapons sites and providing information on the placement of intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles and their test launches are critical components of New START, which U.S.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 12, 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
"The wildest part was the riding at night in the jungle. The noise in there, your mind starts to play games," added Bottas.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
It starts with creating a Rightsizing Project book and then putting sticky, colored dots on items throughout your home to show what will go to your new home and what won’t.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Pete starts writing,” Cohn recalls, “and he comes up with his whole concept. He worked in the studio for months, and finally, he wanted to play something to me. And it was very, very serious.”
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Typically, the flu starts in the South and Southeast, Dr. Helen Chu of the University of Washington School of Medicine told Huffpost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
I sit on the steps a few feet away while he gets a bucket full of gardening tools and starts working.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Walmart started trying versions of the systems more than a decade ago, often in a 1.6 million-square-foot warehouse in Brooksville, Fla., that processes nonperishable goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Not long after Zuckerberg took the stage in California, social media users started reporting cases of Muse running amok, including claims that the agent read emails without permission.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Proponents of H-1B note that Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are founded or run by immigrants, and the efforts to thwart H-1B have already started stifling talent flow and startup creation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Check out table 3.1 here if you don’t believe me, and look at “fiscal year 2027,” which started on Oct.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Kathy’s heart started to pound, her palms were sweaty, and her breath was short, but she kept her eyes on her moshom, and what SJ had said echoed in her mind.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
In a court filing Wednesday, the government told the court it was complying and that it was starting to provide outstanding requests from the monitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Atlas was eventually diagnosed only months before starting school.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
We’re starting to see encouraging signs on all three fronts.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Heading into his senior year at Vandegrift High School—a powerhouse in Austin, Texas—Mestemaker was sure the starting job he’d spent three long years waiting for would finally be his.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Dr. P and I are starting a neighborhood compost project.”
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.
