Adjacent Words

Begin definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BEGIN', v.i. pret. began; pp. begun. [L.genero,gigno; Heb.to make ready, to adapt,prepare, establish.]
1. To have an original or first existence; to take rise; to commence.
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began. Luke 1.
Judgment must begin at the house of God. 1 Peter 4.
From Nimrod first the savage race began.
And tears began to flow.
2. To do the first act; to enter upon something new; to take the first step; as, begin, my muse.
Begin every day to repent.
When I begin, I will also make an end. 2 Samuel 3.
BEGIN'v.t. To do the first act of any thing; to enter on; to commence.
Ye nymphs of Solyma, begin the song.
And this they begin to do. Genesis 11.
2. To trace from any thing, as the first ground; to lay the foundation.
The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures, which leads us to the knowledge of God.
To begin with, to enter upon first; to use or employ first; as, to begin with the Latin Grammar; to begin business with a small capital.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992) [syn: Begin, Menachem Begin] v
1: 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's get down to work now" [syn: get down, begin, get, start out, start, set about, set out, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
2: 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" [syn: begin, start] [ant: cease, end, finish, stop, terminate]
3: 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" [syn: begin, lead off, start, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
4: begin to speak or say; "Now listen, friends," he began
5: be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series; "The number `one' begins the sequence"; "A terrible murder begins the novel"; "The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"
6: have a beginning, of a temporal event; "WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland"; "The company's Asia tour begins next month"
7: 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 workout"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony" [syn: begin, start]
8: 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" [syn: begin, start]
9: achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative; "This economic measure doesn't even begin to deal with the problem of inflation"; "You cannot even begin to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war"
10: begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language; "She began Russian at an early age"; "We started French in fourth grade"

Merriam Webster's

verb (began; begun; beginning) Etymology: Middle English beginnen, from Old English beginnan; akin to Old High German biginnan to begin, Old English onginnan Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to do the first part of an action ; go into the first part of a process ; start 2. a. to come into existence ; arise b. to have a starting point 3. to do or succeed in the least degree <I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am> transitive verb 1. to set about the activity of ; start 2. a. to bring into being ; found b. originate, invent Synonyms: begin, commence, start, initiate, inaugurate, usher in mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation. begin, start, and commence are often interchangeable. begin opposed to end, is the most general <begin a trip> <began dancing>. start opposed to stop, applies especially to first actions, steps, or stages <the work started slowly>. commence can be more formal or bookish than begin or start <commence firing> <commenced a conversation>. initiate implies taking a first step in a process or series that is to continue <initiated diplomatic contacts>. inaugurate suggests a beginning of some formality or notion of significance <the discovery of penicillin inaugurated a new era in medicine>. usher in is somewhat less weighty than inaugurate <ushered in a period of economic decline>.

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Menachem 1913-1992 prime minister of Israel (1977-83)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. (beginning; past began; past part. begun) 1 tr. perform the first part of; start (begin work; begin crying; begin to understand). 2 intr. come into being; arise: a in time (war began in 1939). b in space (Wales begins beyond the river). 3 tr. (usu. foll. by to + infin.) start at a certain time (then began to feel ill). 4 intr. be begun (the meeting will begin at 7). 5 intr. a start speaking ('No,' he began). b take the first step; be the first to do something (who wants to begin?). 6 intr. colloq. (usu. with neg.) show any attempt or likelihood (can't begin to compete). Phrases and idioms: begin at start from. begin on (or upon) set to work at. begin school attend school for the first time. begin with take (a subject, task, etc.) first or as a starting-point. to begin with in the first place; as the first thing. Etymology: OE beginnan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Begin Be*gin", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Began, Begun; p. pr. & vb. n. Beginning.] [AS. beginnan (akin to OS. biginnan, D. & G. beginnen, OHG. biginnan, Goth., du-ginnan, Sw. begynna, Dan. begynde); pref. be- + an assumed ginnan. [root]31. See Gin to begin.] 1. To have or commence an independent or first existence; to take rise; to commence. Vast chain of being! which from God began. --Pope. 2. To do the first act or the first part of an action; to enter upon or commence something new, as a new form or state of being, or course of action; to take the first step; to start. ``Tears began to flow.'' --Dryden. When I begin, I will also make an end. --1 Sam. iii. 12.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Begin Be*gin", v. t. 1. To enter on; to commence. Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song. --Pope. 2. To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a beginning of. The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures, which leads us to the knowledge of God. --Locke. Syn: To commence; originate; set about; start.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Begin Be*gin", n. Beginning. [Poetic & Obs.] --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(begins, beginning, began, begun) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. To begin to do something means to start doing it. He stood up and began to move around the room... The weight loss began to look more serious... Snow began falling again. = start ? stop VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf, V -ing 2. When something begins or when you begin it, it takes place from a particular time onwards. The problems began last November... He has just begun his fourth year in hiding... The US is prepared to begin talks immediately. = start, commence ? end VERB: V, V n, V n 3. If you begin with something, or begin by doing something, this is the first thing you do. Could I begin with a few formalities? ...a businessman who began by selling golf shirts from the boot of his car... He began his career as a sound editor. = start ? end VERB: V with n, V by -ing, V n prep 4. You use begin to mention the first thing that someone says. 'Professor Theron,' he began, 'I'm very pleased to see you'... He didn't know how to begin. ? conclude VERB: no cont, V with quote, V 5. If one thing began as another, it first existed in the form of the second thing. What began as a local festival has blossomed into an international event. = start VERB: no cont, V as n 6. If you say that a thing or place begins somewhere, you are talking about one of its limits or edges. The fate line begins close to the wrist... ? end VERB: no cont, V prep/adv 7. If a word begins with a particular letter, that is the first letter of that word. The first word begins with an F. = start ? end VERB: no cont, V with n 8. If you say that you cannot begin to imagine, understand, or explain something, you are emphasizing that it is almost impossible to explain, understand, or imagine. You can't begin to imagine how much that saddens me. VERB: no cont, with brd-neg, V to-inf [emphasis] 9. You use to begin with when you are talking about the first stage of a situation, event, or process. It was great to begin with but now it's difficult. PHRASE: PHR with cl 10. You use to begin with to introduce the first of several things that you want to say. 'What do scientists you've spoken with think about that?'—'Well, to begin with, they doubt it's going to work.' = firstly PHRASE: PHR with cl 11. to begin life: see life

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-gin': To make the first movement toward a given end (chalal; archomai). Those who interpret it in many passages pleonastically mean by this, that in such passages as "began to teach" or "began to speak," nothing more is intended than to express vividly and graphically the thought of the dependent infinitive. Mt 4:17; Lu 3:23; Ac 1:1 are so understood. For contrary opinion, see Thayer's Lexicon and Winer's Grammar of New Testament Greek.

The noun, arche, "beginning," in the writings of John, is used sometimes in an abstract sense, to designate a previous stage (Joh 1:1,2; 8:25; 1Jo 1:1; 3:8) and, sometimes, the Source or First Cause (Re 3:14; 21:6; 22:13). Often used also, not for the absolute beginning, but, relatively, for the starting-point of some important movement (1Jo 2:7,24; Ac 11:15; Php 4:15).

H. E. Jacobs

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Originate, arise, take rise. 2. Commence, make a beginning, take the first step, break ground, break the ice. II. v. a. Commence, initiate, inaugurate, institute, originate, start, enter upon, set about, set on foot, set in operation, set going.

Moby Thesaurus

arise, attack, blast away, blast off, broach, commence, create, dig in, dive in, embark, enter, enter on, enter upon, establish, fall to, found, get off, get to, go ahead, go into, head into, inaugurate, initiate, institute, introduce, jump off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, originate, pitch in, plunge into, prepare, send off, set about, set in, set out, set sail, set to, set up, spring, start, start in, start off, start out, tackle, take off, take up, turn to, usher in