start

take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

• “We began working at dawn”
• “Who will start?”
• “Get working as soon as the sun rises!”
• “The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia”
• “He began early in the day”
• “Let”

set in motion, cause to start

• “The U.S. started a war in the Middle East”
• “The Iraqis began hostilities”
• “begin a new chapter in your life”

leave

• “The family took off for Florida”

have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense

• “The DMZ begins right over the hill”
• “The second movement begins after the Allegro”
• “Prices for these homes start at $250,000”

bring into being

• “He initiated a new program”
• “Start a foundation”

get off the ground

• “Who started this company?”
• “We embarked on an exciting enterprise”
• “I start my day with a good breakfast”
• “We began the new semester”
• “The afternoon session begins at 4 PM”
• “The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack”

move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm

• “She startled when I walked into the room”

get going or set in motion

• “We simply could not start the engine”
• “start up the computer”

begin or set in motion

• “I start at eight in the morning”
• “Ready, set, go!”

begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job

• “Take up a position”
• “start a new job”

play in the starting line-up

have a beginning characterized in some specified way

• “The novel begins with a murder”
• “My property begins with the three maple trees”
• “Her day begins with a work-out”
• “The semester begins with a convocation ceremony”

begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object

• “begin a cigar”
• “She started the soup while it was still hot”
• “We started physics in 10th grade”

the beginning of anything

• “it was off to a good start”

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”

a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning)

• “he got his start because one of the regular pitchers was in the hospital”
• “his starting meant that the coach thought he was one of their best linemen”

a sudden involuntary movement

• “he awoke with a start”

the act of starting something

• “he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations”

a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game

a signal to begin (as in a race)

• “the starting signal was a green light”
• “the runners awaited the start”

advantage gained by an early start as in a race

• “with an hour”