Definitions for begin

Definitions for (noun) begin

Main entry: Begin, Menachem Begin

Definition: 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)


Definitions for (verb) begin

Main entry: commence, start, start out, set about, set out, get, get down, begin

Definition: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

Usage: 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


Main entry: commence, start, lead off, begin

Definition: set in motion, cause to start

Usage: The U.S. started a war in the Middle East; The Iraqis began hostilities; begin a new chapter in your life


Main entry: begin

Definition: begin to speak or say

Usage: Now listen, friends, he began


Main entry: begin

Definition: begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language

Usage: She began Russian at an early age; We started French in fourth grade


Main entry: begin

Definition: achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative

Usage: 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


Main entry: start, begin

Definition: begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object

Usage: begin a cigar; She started the soup while it was still hot; We started physics in 10th grade


Main entry: begin, start

Definition: have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense

Usage: The DMZ begins right over the hill; The second movement begins after the Allegro; Prices for these homes start at $250,000


Main entry: start, begin

Definition: have a beginning characterized in some specified way

Usage: 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


Main entry: begin

Definition: have a beginning, of a temporal event

Usage: WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland; The company's Asia tour begins next month


Main entry: begin

Definition: be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series

Usage: The number `one' begins the sequence; A terrible murder begins the novel; The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester


Visual thesaurus for begin