Definition of commence verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

commence

verb

/kəˈmens/

[intransitive, transitive] (formal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they commence	/kəˈmens/ /kəˈmens/
he / she / it commences	/kəˈmensɪz/ /kəˈmensɪz/
past simple commenced	/kəˈmenst/ /kəˈmenst/
past participle commenced	/kəˈmenst/ /kəˈmenst/
-ing form commencing	/kəˈmensɪŋ/ /kəˈmensɪŋ/

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to begin to happen; to begin something
- The meeting is scheduled to commence at noon.
- I will be on leave during the week commencing 15 February.
- commence with something The day commenced with a welcome from the principal.
- commence something She commenced her medical career in 1996.
- The company commenced operations in April.
- to commence bankruptcy proceedings against somebody
- commence doing something We commence building next week.
- commence to do something Operators commenced to build pipelines in 1862.
Synonyms start
startbegin ▪ start off ▪ kick off ▪ commence ▪ openThese words are all used to talk about things happening from the beginning, or people doing the first part of something.
start to begin to happen or exist; to begin in a particular way or from a particular point:
When does the class start?
begin to start to happen or exist; to start in a particular way or from a particular point; to start speaking:
When does the concert begin?
start or begin?There is not much difference in meaning between these words. Start is more frequent in spoken English and in business contexts; begin is more frequent in written English and is often used when you are describing a series of events: The story begins on the island of Corfu. Start is not used to mean ‘begin speaking’: ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he started.
start off (rather informal) to start happening or doing something; to start by doing or being something:
The discussion started off mildly enough.
kick off (informal) to start an event or activity, especially in a particular way; (of an event, activity, etc.) to start, especially in a particular way:
Tom will kick off with a few comments.
The festival kicks off on Monday, September 13.
commence (formal) to start happening:
The meeting is scheduled to commence at noon.
open to start an event or activity in a particular way; (of an event, a film or a book) to start, especially in a particular way:
The story opens with a murder.
Patterns
- to start/begin/start off/kick off/commence/open with something
- to start/begin/start off/kick off/commence/open by doing something
- to start/begin/start off/commence as something
- a campaign/season/meeting starts/begins/starts off/kicks off/commences/opens
- a film/book starts/begins/starts off/opens
Topics Working lifec1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Commence is used with these nouns as the subject:
enquiry
hostility
period
…
See full entry
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French commencier, comencier, based on Latin com- (expressing intensive force) + initiare ‘begin’.

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See commence in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee commence in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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