noun
- The beginning of anything.
- usage: "it was off to a good start"
- The time at which something is supposed to begin.
- usage: "they got an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her"
- A turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning. )
- usage: "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"
- A sudden involuntary movement.
- usage: "he awoke with a start"
- The act of starting something.
- usage: "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations"
- A line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game.
- A signal to begin (as in a race. )
- usage: "the starting signal was a green light"; "the runners awaited the start"
- The advantage gained by beginning early (as in a race. )
- usage: "with an hour's start he will be hard to catch"
verb
- 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"
- 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"
- Leave.
- usage: "The family took off for Florida"
- 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"
- Bring into being.
- usage: "He initiated a new program"; "Start a foundation"
- Get off the ground.
- usage: "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"
- Move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm.
- usage: "She startled when I walked into the room"
- Get going or set in motion.
- usage: "We simply could not start the engine"; "start up the computer"
- Begin or set in motion.
- usage: "I start at eight in the morning"; "Ready, set, go"
- Begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job.
- usage: "Take up a position"; "start a new job"
- Play in the starting lineup.
- 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"
- 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"
- Bulge outward.
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
- (v.i.) To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to begin; as, to start business.
- (v.i.) The arm or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.
- (v.t.) 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.
- (v.i.) To leap; to jump.
- (v.i.) A tail or anything projecting like a tail.
- (v.i.) The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel bucket.
- (v.i.) To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a seam may start under strain or pressure.
- (n.) A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy.
- (n.) A convulsive motion, twitch or spasm; a spasmodic effort.
- (v.t.) 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.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.t.) 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.
- (v.t.) To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.t.) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from; as, to start a water cask.
- (v.i.) The handle or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle.
- (v.i.) To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise, pain or other sudden feeling or emotion or by a voluntary act.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. 31 January 2011.