What does "start" mean?
The beginning of an activity.
Start
/stɑːt/ adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The beginning of an activity.
- Grammar: start is listed as adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: begin, beginning, commencement, jump.
- Useful contrasts: closing paragraph, complete search, complete structure.
- Usage evidence: You should start as early as you can.
How to use "start"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "start" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "start" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "start" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "start" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "start" is acting as adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "begin" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "start", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The beginning of an activity.
"The movie was entertaining from start to finish."
- 2 An instance of starting.
- 3 A projection or protrusion; that which pokes out.
- 4 A typical button for video games, originally used to start a game, now also often to pause or choose an option.
- 5 Acronym of simple triage and rapid treatment. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 the act of starting something wordnet
- 7 A sudden involuntary movement.
"He woke with a start."
- 8 The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water wheel bucket.
"The fall of water is 6 feet, and the radius of the curve is 8 feet, from the centre of the water-wheel to the extreme point of the start."
- 9 Alternative form of Start (“a typical button for video games, originally used to start a game, now also often to pause or choose an option”) alt-of, alternative, uncountable
- 10 a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning) wordnet
- 11 The beginning point of a race, a board game, etc.
"Captured pieces are returned to the start of the board."
- 12 The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.
"... horses, a number of men who seemed to acquire strength as the necessity for it increased, applied their shoulders to the starts, or shafts of the gin, and worked it with extraordinary speed. By twelve o'clock, thirty-two[…]"
- 13 a sudden involuntary movement wordnet
- 14 An appearance in a sports game, horserace, etc., from the beginning of the event.
"Jones has been a substitute before, but made his first start for the team last Sunday."
- 15 the advantage gained by beginning early (as in a race) wordnet
- 16 A young plant germinated in a pot to be transplanted later.
"You generally see nursery starts at garden centres in mid to late spring. Small annual plants are generally sold in four-packs or larger packs, with each cell holding a single young plant."
- 17 a signal to begin (as in a race) wordnet
- 18 An initial advantage over somebody else; a head start.
"to get, or have, the start"
- 19 the beginning of anything wordnet
- 20 A happening or proceeding. UK, archaic, slang
"“It's a rum start, old John Madingley's coming down to Tunnleton,” said Grafton, one evening in the smoking-room; […]"
- 21 a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game wordnet
- 22 Alternative letter-case form of Start (“a typical button for video games, originally used to start a game, now also often to pause or choose an option”) alt-of
- 23 the time at which something is supposed to begin wordnet
Verb
- 1 To begin, commence, initiate.; To set in motion. ergative
"to start a stream of water; to start a rumour; to start a business"
- 2 take the first step or steps in carrying out an action wordnet
- 3 To begin, commence, initiate.; To begin. ergative
"The President fired the gun to start the footrace."
- 4 set in motion, cause to start wordnet
- 5 To begin, commence, initiate.; To ready the operation of a vehicle or machine. ergative
"to start the engine"
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 play in the starting lineup wordnet
- 7 To begin, commence, initiate.; To put or raise (a question, an objection); to put forward (a subject for discussion). ergative
- 8 bring into being wordnet
- 9 To begin, commence, initiate.; To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent. ergative
"Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start."
- 10 get off the ground wordnet
- 11 To have its origin (at), begin. intransitive
"The speed limit is 50 km/h, starting at the edge of town."
- 12 get going or set in motion wordnet
- 13 To move suddenly, from a previous state of rest; to startle.; To jerk, jump up, flinch, or draw back in surprise. intransitive
"But if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted heart."
- 14 begin or set in motion wordnet
- 15 To move suddenly, from a previous state of rest; to startle.; To awaken suddenly. intransitive
"I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; [...]"
- 16 move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm wordnet
- 17 To move suddenly, from a previous state of rest; to startle.; To disturb and set in motion; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee. transitive
"The hounds started a fox."
- 18 depart for someplace wordnet
- 19 To move suddenly, from a previous state of rest; to startle.; To come loose, to break free of a firmly set position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate. ergative
"the storm started the bolts in the vessel"
- 20 bulge outward wordnet
- 21 To put into play. transitive
"The charge against Zagallo then is not so much that he started Ronaldo, but that when it should surely have been clear that the player was in no fit state to take part he kept him on."
- 22 begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job wordnet
- 23 To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from. transitive
"to start a water cask"
- 24 begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object wordnet
- 25 To begin one's menstrual cycle. euphemistic, intransitive
"Have you started yet?"
- 26 have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense wordnet
- 27 have a beginning characterized in some specified way wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Completely, utterly. archaic, dialectal
"Col.—The age has no sense—the people are start mad—as mad as a March mare. We should have fine times, indeed if our laws did'nt compel the poor people to protect the property of the rich."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Old English.
- 2 The city of London, England. UK, obsolete, slang
"It is true that certain kinds of documents, especially sham hawkers’ licenses, may be had in the provinces, at prices suited to the importance of their contents, or to the probable gains of their circulation; but all the ‘regular bang-up fakes’ are manufactured in the ‘Start’ (metropolis), and sent into the country to order, carefully packed up, and free from observation."
- 3 Acronym of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
closing paragraphcomplete searchcomplete structurecompleted activity sheet
Example
"You should start as early as you can."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "start"?
Common synonyms include: begin, beginning, commencement, jump, a, ace in the hole.
How do you use "start" in a sentence?
You should start as early as you can.
How do you pronounce "start"?
Pronounced /stɑːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English stert, from the verb sterten (“to start, startle”). See below.
Etymology 2
From Middle English sterten (“to leap up suddenly, rush out”), from Old English styrtan (“to leap up, start”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan (“to startle, move, set in motion”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ter- (“to be stiff”). Cognate with Old Frisian stirta (“to fall down, tumble”), Middle Dutch sterten (“to rush, fall, collapse”) (Dutch storten), Old High German sturzen (“to hurl, plunge, turn upside down”) (German stürzen), Old High German sterzan (“to be stiff, protrude”). More at stare.
Etymology 3
From Middle English stert, start (“tail, handle, projection”), from Old English steort (“tail”), from Proto-West Germanic *stert, from Proto-Germanic *stertaz (“tail”). Cognate with Scots start, stairt (“side post, shaft, upright post”), Dutch staart (“tail”), German Sterz (“tail, handle”), Danish stjert (“tail of a bird”), Faroese stertur (“tail”), Icelandic stertur (“short horse tail”), Norn skjårt (“tail”), sterti (“tail of a large fish”), stjårt (“tail of a large fish”), Norwegian stjert (“tail of a bird”), Swedish stjärt (“tail, arse”).
Etymology 4
Variant of stark.
Etymology 5
The verb start, with initial uppercase letter.
Etymology 6
Topographic surname, from Old English steort (“tail, promontory”).