start
verb (used without object)
to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
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strt.
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.
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to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.
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to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place.
The rabbit started from the bush.
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to be among the entrants in a race or the initial participants in a game or contest.
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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.
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to protrude.
eyes seeming to start from their sockets.
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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.
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to establish or found.
to start a new business.
- Synonyms:
- institute
-
to begin work on.
to start a book.
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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.
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to cause or choose to be an entrant in a game or contest.
He started his ace pitcher in the crucial game.
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to cause (an object) to work loose from place or fastenings.
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to rouse (game) from its lair or covert; flush.
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to draw or discharge (liquid or other contents) from a vessel or container; empty (a container).
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Archaic. to cause to twitch, jump, or flinch involuntarily; startle.
noun
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starts
plural
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a beginning of an action, journey, etc.
- Synonyms:
- onset, commencement
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a signal to move, proceed, or begin, as on a course or in a race.
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a place or time from which something begins.
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the first part or beginning segment of anything.
The start of the book was good but the last half was dull.
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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.
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a sudden, springing movement from a position.
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a sudden, involuntary jerking movement of the body.
to awake with a start.
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a lead or advance of specified amount, as over competitors or pursuers.
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the position or advantage of one who starts first.
The youngest child should have the start over the rest.
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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.
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a spurt of activity.
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a starting of parts from their place or fastenings in a structure.
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the resulting break or opening.
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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
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(sometimes foll by up) to set or be set in motion
he started up the machine
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(intr) to make a sudden involuntary movement of one's body, from or as if from fright; jump
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(intr; sometimes foll by up, away, etc) to spring or jump suddenly from a position or place
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to establish or be established; set up
to start a business
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(tr) to support (someone) in the first part of a venture, career, etc
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to work or cause to work loose
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to enter or be entered in a race
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(intr) to flow violently from a source
wine started from a hole in the cask
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(tr) to rouse (game) from a hiding place, lair, etc
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(intr) (esp of eyes) to bulge; pop
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an archaic word for startle
-
informal (intr) to commence quarrelling or causing a disturbance
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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
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a signal to proceed, as in a race
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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
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a slight involuntary movement of the body, as through fright, surprise, etc
she gave a start as I entered
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an opportunity to enter a career, undertake a project, etc
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informal a surprising incident
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a part that has come loose or been disengaged
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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
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startssimple
-
have startedperfect
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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:
She had always refused to believe her father's story that her mother had abandoned her to start a new life in Australia.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
“In general, things are going to start to feel a lot better.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I watched the carnage from an NYU dorm room, having just moved to the city to start my freshman year of college.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Revising guidelines, Education Minister Paul Givan said that, from the start of the 2027/2028 academic year, schools will be banned from prohibiting girls wearing trousers.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
I start in on one of my favorite pieces: Adagio in G Minor by Albinoni.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
“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
Jon Wolfsthal, director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists, said Trump and Putin could pick up the phone and agree immediately at a political level to extend New START.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 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 really hard one is the second championship because everybody starts to think they were the reason that the first one worked, and just the difficulty of topping an emotional high like that —”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
She starts by using an exfoliating mitt to apply an oil-based Nerra cleanser and follows with Prequel’s Gleanser, a hydrating, glycerin-based wash that she also uses on her face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Until the AI starts killing people, unfortunately, history would suggest we’re not going to do anything,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
The biggest of them is that United are a much more effective unit when Benjamin Sesko starts.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“You push it back. You can feel when it starts to overwhelm you.”
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Earlier, the coast guard said preliminary interviews with the survivors suggest that the fire started in the cargo hold.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
But this week, Roher started getting more calls from friends and family asking for his assessment of the risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
After the first plane hit, reporters started gathering firsthand accounts on the street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The DMV started rolling out plates with the new configuration earlier this year but the first one hasn’t been issued to a vehicle yet, Ongtoaboc said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I started running after him then, so did Mutti.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
To try to make sense of Journey’s path, I’ve ranked all 25 of the band’s hits that have charted on Billboard’s Hot 100, starting with the worst and ending with the best.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Earnings are likely to normalize for the new year starting in October, due to the lack of major new game launches, Sato says, forecasting declines in game-segment sales and operating profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It will be made available starting in December to adult creators in the United States, then rolled out internationally in 2027, alongside the launch of an associated payment card.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
He slipped in the mention about an hour into his lengthy speech - just when the audience's attention was starting to waver.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
One of the rocket ships was starting to come undone where the name J. Pierce was stitched in blue thread.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
