start Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the beginning of anything
    • it was off to a good start
  2. noun the time at which something is supposed to begin
    outset; get-go; showtime; starting time; kickoff; offset; beginning; commencement; first.
    • they got an early start
    • she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her
  3. noun a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning)
    starting.
    • 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
  4. noun a sudden involuntary movement
    jump; startle.
    • he awoke with a start
  5. noun the act of starting something
    beginning; commencement.
    • he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations
  6. noun a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game
    scratch line; starting line; scratch.
  7. noun a signal to begin (as in a race)
    starting signal.
    • the starting signal was a green light
    • the runners awaited the start
  8. noun the advantage gained by beginning early (as in a race)
    head start.
    • with an hour's start he will be hard to catch
  9. verb take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
    begin; get; start out; set about; set out; get down; commence.
    • 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
  10. verb set in motion, cause to start
    lead off; begin; commence.
    • The U.S. started a war in the Middle East
    • The Iraqis began hostilities
    • begin a new chapter in your life
  11. verb leave
    depart; set forth; set off; start out; part; set out; take off.
    • The family took off for Florida
  12. verb have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense
    begin.
    • The DMZ begins right over the hill
    • The second movement begins after the Allegro
    • Prices for these homes start at $250,000
  13. verb bring into being
    initiate; originate.
    • He initiated a new program
    • Start a foundation
  14. verb get off the ground
    start up; embark on; commence.
    • 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
  15. verb move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm
    jump; startle.
    • She startled when I walked into the room
  16. verb get going or set in motion
    start up.
    • We simply could not start the engine
    • start up the computer
  17. verb begin or set in motion
    go; get going.
    • I start at eight in the morning
    • Ready, set, go!
  18. verb begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job
    take up.
    • Take up a position
    • start a new job
  19. verb play in the starting lineup
  20. verb have a beginning characterized in some specified way
    begin.
    • 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
  21. verb begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object
    begin.
    • begin a cigar
    • She started the soup while it was still hot
    • We started physics in 10th grade
  22. verb bulge outward
    bulge; bug out; pop; come out; pop out; protrude; bulge out.
    • His eyes popped

WordNet

Start intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. sterten; akin to D. storten 8hurl, rush, fall, G. stürzen, OHG. sturzen to turn over, to fall, Sw. störa to cast down, to fall, Dan. styrte, and probably also to E. start a tail; the original sense being, perhaps, to show the tail, to tumble over suddenly. *166. Cf. Start a tail.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle started; present participle & verbal noun starting
Definitions
  1. To leap; to jump. Obs.
  2. To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise, pain, or other sudden feeling or emotion, or by a voluntary act.
    And maketh him out of his sleep to start. Chaucer.
    I start as from some dreadful dream. Dryden.
    Keep your soul to the work when ready to start aside. I. Watts.
    But if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted heart. Shak.
  3. To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to begin; as, to start business.
    At once they start, advancing in a line. Dryden.
    At intervals some bird from out the brakes Starts into voice a moment, then is still. Byron.
  4. To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a seam may start under strain or pressure.
Start transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To cause to move suddenly; to disturb suddenly; to startle; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee or fly; as, the hounds started a fox.
    Upon malicious bravery dost thou come To start my quiet? Shak.
    Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar. Shak.
  2. To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent.
    Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start. Sir W. Temple.
  3. To cause to move or act; to set going, running, or flowing; as, to start a railway train; to start a mill; to start a stream of water; to start a rumor; to start a business.
    I was engaged in conversation upon a subject which the people love to start in discourse. Addison.
  4. To move suddenly from its place or position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate; as, to start a bone; the storm started the bolts in the vessel.
    One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternum. Wiseman.
  5. Perh. from D. storten, which has this meaning also. (Naut.) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from; as, to start a water cask.
Start noun
Definitions
  1. The act of starting; a sudden spring, leap, or motion, caused by surprise, fear, pain, or the like; any sudden motion, or beginning of motion.
    The fright awakened Arcite with a start. Dryden.
  2. A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort.
    For she did speak in starts distractedly. Shak.
    Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry. L'Estrange.
  3. A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy.
    To check the starts and sallies of the soul. Addison.
  4. The beginning, as of a journey or a course of action; first motion from a place; act of setting out; the outset; -- opposed to finish.
    The start of first performance is all. Bacon.
    I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. Shak.
    At a start he was betwixt them two. Chaucer.
Start noun
Etymology
OE. stert a tail, AS. steort; akin to LG. stert, steert, D. staart, G. sterz, Icel. stertr, Dan. stiert, Sw. stjert. *166. Cf. Stark naked, under Stark, Start, v. i.
Definitions
  1. A tail, or anything projecting like a tail.
  2. The handle, or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle. Prov. Eng.
  3. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel bucket.
  4. (Mining) The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.

Webster 1913