beginning

Meanings

• the event consisting of the start of something
  • "the beginning of the war"
• the time at which something is supposed to begin
• the first part or section of something
  • "`It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story"
• the place where something begins, where it springs into being
  • "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"
• the act of starting something
  • "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations"
• take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
• have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense
• set in motion, cause to start
• begin to speak or say; he began
• be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series
• have a beginning, of a temporal event
• have a beginning characterized in some specified way
• begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object
• achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative
• begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language
• serving to begin
  • "the beginning canto of the poem"

Synonyms

begin, commence, commencement, first, get, get down, get-go, kickoff, lead off, offset, origin, outset, root, rootage, set about, set out, showtime, source, start, start out, starting time