start
verb/stɑːt/
/stɑːrt/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they start | /stɑːt/ /stɑːrt/ |
| he / she / it starts | /stɑːts/ /stɑːrts/ |
| past simple started | /ˈstɑːtɪd/ /ˈstɑːrtɪd/ |
| past participle started | /ˈstɑːtɪd/ /ˈstɑːrtɪd/ |
| -ing form starting | /ˈstɑːtɪŋ/ /ˈstɑːrtɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to begin doing or using something
- start (something) I start work at nine.
- He's just started a new job.
- The kids start school next week.
- I only started (= began to read) this book yesterday.
- We need to start (= begin using) a new jar of coffee.
- It's a long story. Where shall I start?
- Can you start (= a new job) on Monday?
- start to do something It started to rain.
- I was starting to feel tired.
- Mistakes were starting to creep in.
- start doing something She started laughing.
- Suddenly things started happening.
- start on something It's time you started on your homework.
- start by doing something Let's start by reviewing what we did last week.
- If you want to find out more, this website is a good place to start.
Express Yourself Conversation openersConversation openersWhat can you say when you have to speak to somebody for the first time or when you have to open a meeting? Here are some possible ways of starting a conversation or getting the audience's attention before a talk or speech:- Do you mind if I sit here?
- Hello, is this seat taken?
- May I join you? Can I get you a coffee?
- Lovely weather we’re having!
- Can you believe this rain?
- Excuse me, could I ask you a question?
- Shall we make a start? I think it's almost three o'clock.
- Shall we get started? I'd like to introduce our speaker.
- I think everyone's here, so I'd like to welcome you to this conference.
Which Word? begin / startbegin / start- There is not much difference in meaning between begin and start, though start is more common in spoken English:
- What time does the concert start/begin?
- She started/began working here three months ago.
- The story begins on the island of Corfu.
- We’ll need to start at 7.00.
- Who do you think started the fire?
- The car won’t start.
- You can use either an infinitive or a form with -ing after begin and start, with no difference in meaning:
- I didn’t start worrying/to worry until she was 2 hours late.
- After the forms beginning and starting, the -ing form of the verb is not normally used:
- It’s starting/beginning to rain.
- It’s starting/beginning raining.
Extra Examples- By early evening he was ready to start work.
- She started work in the mill when she was just 14 years old.
- When we started this project, we didn't know what to expect.
- At that point I just started to hate the man.
- The garden is starting to look very bare.
- I'm starting to think I should move somewhere else.
- She started to wonder whether she was imagining it all.
- Her heart suddenly started to race.
- He started to get angry.
- He started getting angry.
- The girl next to me started to talk to me.
- The girl next to me started talking to me.
- People have started saying that they don't want to use social media any more.
- Things were very different when I started working here 17 years ago.
- I need to start getting ready.
- It's time to start thinking about next year.
- Maybe you should start looking for a new job.
- When did you start playing the piano?
- You'd better start packing if you're to leave early tomorrow morning.
- We'll just have to start all over again.
- I've finished decorating the bathroom, so now I can start on the bedroom.
- He finished all his own food and started on mine.
- He has just started at school.
- I don't know where to start with all this work.
- Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.
- I'll have to start again from scratch.
- We start by examining the evidence.
- Start by preparing the planting area.
- If you want to learn about frogs, this book is an excellent place to start.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- suddenly
- immediately
- just
- …
- decide to
- expect to
- hope to
- …
- as
- by
- from
- …
- get (somebody/something) started
- a good, great, etc. place to start
- let’s start
- …
- [intransitive, transitive] to begin happening; to make something begin happening
- Work is due to start this weekend.
- What time does the show start?
- Have you any idea where the rumour started?
- start something Who started the fire?
- I'm ready to start the process of writing.
- Do you start the day with a good breakfast?
- You're always trying to start an argument.
- start somebody/something doing something The news started me thinking.
Synonyms startstartbegin ▪ 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?
- When does the concert begin?
- The discussion started off mildly enough.
- Tom will kick off with a few comments.
- The festival kicks off on Monday, September 13.
- The meeting is scheduled to commence at noon.
- The story opens with a murder.
- 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
Extra Examples- A new term was about to start.
- When does the class start?
- The new season starts on Monday.
- Her career in the civil service started in 1998.
- The fire is thought to have started in the kitchen.
- After the war started, many people tried to leave.
- It's a great opportunity to start a new career.
- These producers start their planting season a week or two earlier than normal.
- They started a war that wasn't justified.
- Before you start the game, you choose a character to play as.
- Who started the fight?
- It's his fault. He started it.
- A campaign was started for his release.
- Our goal is to start a conversation with our customers.
- Birmingham Royal Ballet start the new season with an intriguing triple bill next week.
- We want to start people talking about issues that matter to them in their community.
- It was Liz that started me listening to classical music.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- suddenly
- immediately
- just
- …
- decide to
- expect to
- hope to
- …
- as
- by
- from
- …
- get (somebody/something) started
- a good, great, etc. place to start
- let’s start
- …
- [transitive, intransitive] start (something) when you start a machine or a vehicle or it starts, it begins to operate
- Start the engines!
- He started the recording.
- I can't get the car started.
- The car won't start.
Extra Examples- He walked over to his truck, got in and started the engine.
- Pushing the ignition button starts the engine.
- Dan started the lawn mower again.
- Start the tape.
- I couldn't get the car to start.
- Her voice was drowned out when the car started.
- There was a delay because the motor wouldn't start.
- The blender won't start unless the lid is closed properly.
- [intransitive, transitive] to begin to exist; to make something begin to exist
- The company started in 1894 in Pennsylvania.
- start up There are a lot of small businesses starting up in that area.
- start something She started a business while she was still at school.
- I decided to start a fashion blog.
- They want to start a family (= to have children).
- start something up He decided to start up his own film festival.
Extra Examples- They decided to start a catering business.
- She started the company in the 1990s.
- She started a yoga class at work.
- Maria started a Spanish conversation class in the village hall.
- I made several attempts to start my own clothing company.
- If you're passionate about a hobby, why not start your own blog?
- When we started the band we never expected this.
- This was a club started by music fans, for music fans.
- They are offering incentives for new businesses to start up in the area.
- There are a lot of costs when you're just starting up.
- Some people have great ideas but start up without having a clear idea of how viable their businesses are.
- He started up his own chain of hotels.
- We started up this website as a way for people to make contact with fellow enthusiasts.
- What made you decide to start the business up?
- [intransitive] to begin from a particular place, amount or situation; to begin in a particular way
- + adv./prep. The trail starts just outside the town.
- Hotel prices start at €80 for a double room.
- A sentence always starts with a capital letter.
- The evening started badly when the speaker failed to turn up.
- + adj. The best professional musicians start young.
Extra Examples- The 109-mile bike race starts and finishes at the end of Market Street.
- The river starts in northwest Arkansas.
- Let's start with this first piece of music.
- The walk starts from the carpark on Nimmings Lane.
- He could not remember exactly where the taxi ride started.
- Your tour starts at the Cathedral.
- Players start in the centre of the board and move outwards.
- The prints are not expensive, starting at $35.
- We start from the premise that every child matters.
- We are starting from a difficult position because we have very little information.
- I started with the idea that I wanted to write about family.
- It often helps to start with a simple question.
- The story starts in the mid 1960s in a small English town.
- The show starts with a bang and maintains the excitement throughout.
- The film starts well, but halfway through the story starts to drag.
- The team started strongly but faded in the second half.
- It's better to start slowly and learn as you go.
- She started relatively late as an artist.
- James started small with $5,000 in contracts.
- I start simple, with just a geometric shape.
- He started full of confidence, but something went wrong.
- [intransitive, transitive] to begin, or to begin something such as a career, in a particular way that changed later
- start as something She started as a secretary but ended up running the department.
- It started as a hobby and grew from there.
- start out/off The company started out with 30 employees.
- start out/off as something I started off as a dishwasher making 25 cents an hour.
- start something (as something) He started life as a teacher before turning to journalism.
- start something doing something She started her career working for the BBC.
Extra Examples- I started as a trainee and ended up a supervisor.
- It started as a joke, but we soon realized people were taking it seriously.
- The World Wide Web started as a way for scientists and academics to share information.
- The film started as an experiment to see if I could do something new.
- I started out washing cars at the golf club.
- It's probably best to start out renting equipment.
- We started off with just a few product lines.
- He started work as a butcher's boy and now has his own shop.
- I started my working life as a studio photographer.
- The magazine started life as a comic book in 1952.
- The building started life as a prison but was converted to a luxury hotel.
- [intransitive] start (out) to begin a journey; to leave synonym set off, set out
- What time are we starting tomorrow?
Extra Examples- She had started out late for the meeting.
- They had started out from Saigon the previous day.
- I should get there by the afternoon if I start early.
- Make sure you've got everything before we start.
- They started out at five o'clock in the morning.
- What time do we start?
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to begin to move in a particular direction
- I started after her (= began to follow her) to tell her the news.
- He started for the door, but I blocked his way.
- [intransitive] to move suddenly and quickly because you are surprised or afraid synonym jump
- The sudden noise made her start.
doing something
happening
machine/vehicle
existing
from place/level/in particular way
journey
going/walking
move suddenly
Word OriginOld English styrtan ‘to caper, leap’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch storten ‘push’ and German stürzen ‘fall headlong, fling’. From the sense ‘sudden movement’ arose the sense ‘initiation of movement, setting out on a journey’ and hence ‘beginning of a process, etc.’.
Idioms
See start in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee start in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishdon’t start | don't you start
- (informal) used to tell somebody not to complain or be critical
- Don't start! I told you I'd be late.
- Don't you start! It's hard enough managing the kids, without you complaining too.
get/set/start/keep the ball rolling
- to make something start happening; to make sure that something continues to happen
get/start off on the right/wrong foot (with somebody)
- (informal) to start a relationship well/badly
- I seem to have got off on the wrong foot with the new boss.
get started
- to begin doing something
- It's nearly ten o'clock. Let's get started.
- It's already late, so I think we should get started.
start/get off on the right/wrong foot (with somebody)
- (informal) to start a relationship well/badly
- I seem to have started off on the wrong foot with the new boss.
start something
- (informal) to cause trouble
to start with
- used when you are giving the first and most important reason for something
- To start with, it’s much too expensive…
- at the beginning
- The club had only six members to start with.
- I'll have melon to start with.
- She wasn't keen on the idea to start with.
you, he, she, etc. started it
- (informal) used to blame somebody for beginning a fight or an argument
- ‘Stop fighting, you two!’ ‘He started it!’
Check pronunciation:
start