Link Centre Dictionary

Also Inflected form of begin

beginning

be·gin·ning

UK/ˈbɪ.ɡɪ.nɪŋɡ/ US/bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/ common informal
noun (5) adjective (1)

noun

1.

the event consisting of the start of something

  • “the beginning of the war”
Antonyms
2.

the time at which something is supposed to begin

  • “they got an early start”
  • “she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

the first part or section of something

  • “It was a dark and stormy night”
Antonyms
4.

the place where something begins, where it springs into being

  • “the Italian beginning of the Renaissance”
  • “Jupiter was the origin of the radiation”
  • “Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River”
  • “communism”
Synonyms
5.

the act of starting something

  • “he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations”
Synonyms
Antonyms

adjective

1.

serving to begin

  • “the beginning canto of the poem”
  • “the first verse”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English begynnyng, bygynnynge, From Old English *beginnende (attested only as Old English onginnende), from Proto-Germanic *biginnandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”), equivalent to begin + -ing.

Phrases

  • a good beginning makes a good ending
  • beginning of day
  • beginning of the end
  • beginning to end

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.