Started Start I Begin Starting Extra Examples People

• i start work at nine.
• he's just started a new job.
• the kids start school next week.
• i only started (= began to read) this book yesterday.

start

Verb Forms

1. to begin doing or using something
• I start work at nine.
• He's just started a new job.
• The kids start school next week.
• I only started (= began to read) this book yesterday.
• We need to start (= begin using) a new jar of coffee.
• It's a long story. Where shall I start?
• Can you start (= a new job) on Monday?
• It started to rain.
• I was starting to feel tired.
• Mistakes were starting to creep in.
• She started laughing.
• Suddenly things started happening.
• It's time you started on your homework.
• Let's start by reviewing what we did last week.
• If you want to find out more, this website is a good place to start.

Extra Examples

• By early evening he was ready to start work.
• She started work in the mill when she was just 14 years old.
• When we started this project, we didn't know what to expect.
• At that point I just started to hate the man.
• The garden is starting to look very bare.
• I'm starting to think I should move somewhere else.
• She started to wonder whether she was imagining it all.
• Her heart suddenly started to race.
• He started to get angry.
• He started getting angry.
• The girl next to me started to talk to me.
• The girl next to me started talking to me.
• People have started saying that they don't want to use social media any more.
• Things were very different when I started working here 17 years ago.
• I need to start getting ready.
• It's time to start thinking about next year.
• Maybe you should start looking for a new job.
• When did you start playing the piano?
• You'd better start packing if you're to leave early tomorrow morning.
• We'll just have to start all over again.
• I've finished decorating the bathroom, so now I can start on the bedroom.
• He finished all his own food and started on mine.
• He has just started at school.
• I don't know where to start with all this work.
• Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.
• I'll have to start again from scratch.
• We start by examining the evidence.
• Start by preparing the planting area.
• If you want to learn about frogs, this book is an excellent place to start.
2. to begin happening; to make something begin happening
• Work is due to start this weekend.
• What time does the show start?
• Have you any idea where the rumour started?
• Who started the fire?
• I'm ready to start the process of writing.
• Do you start the day with a good breakfast?
• You're always trying to start an argument.
• The news started me thinking.

Extra Examples

• A new term was about to start.
• When does the class start?
• The new season starts on Monday.
• Her career in the civil service started in 1998.
• The fire is thought to have started in the kitchen.
• After the war started, many people tried to leave.
• It's a great opportunity to start a new career.
• These producers start their planting season a week or two earlier than normal.
• They started a war that wasn't justified.
• Before you start the game, you choose a character to play as.
• Who started the fight?
• It's his fault. He started it.
• A campaign was started for his release.
• Our goal is to start a conversation with our customers.
• Birmingham Royal Ballet start the new season with an intriguing triple bill next week.
• We want to start people talking about issues that matter to them in their community.
• It was Liz that started me listening to classical music.
3. when you start a machine or a vehicle or it starts, it begins to operate
• SEE ALSO jump-start
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/jump-start
• Start the engines!
• He started the recording.
• I can't get the car started.
• The car won't start.

Extra Examples

• He walked over to his truck, got in and started the engine.
• Pushing the ignition button starts the engine.
• Dan started the lawn mower again.
• Start the tape.
• I couldn't get the car to start.
• Her voice was drowned out when the car started.
• There was a delay because the motor wouldn't start.
• The blender won't start unless the lid is closed properly.
4. to begin to exist; to make something begin to exist
• The company started in 1894 in Pennsylvania.
• There are a lot of small businesses starting up in that area.
• She started a business while she was still at school.
• I decided to start a fashion blog.
• They want to start a family (= to have children).
• He decided to start up his own film festival.

Extra Examples

• They decided to start a catering business.
• She started the company in the 1990s.
• She started a yoga class at work.
• Maria started a Spanish conversation class in the village hall.
• I made several attempts to start my own clothing company.
• If you're passionate about a hobby, why not start your own blog?
• When we started the band we never expected this.
• This was a club started by music fans, for music fans.
• They are offering incentives for new businesses to start up in the area.
• There are a lot of costs when you're just starting up.
• Some people have great ideas but start up without having a clear idea of how viable their businesses are.
• He started up his own chain of hotels.
• We started up this website as a way for people to make contact with fellow enthusiasts.
• What made you decide to start the business up?
5. to begin from a particular place, amount or situation; to begin in a particular way
• The trail starts just outside the town.
• Hotel prices start at €80 for a double room.
• A sentence always starts with a capital letter.
• The evening started badly when the speaker failed to turn up.
• The best professional musicians start young.

Extra Examples

• The 109-mile bike race starts and finishes at the end of Market Street.
• The river starts in northwest Arkansas.
• Let's start with this first piece of music.
• The walk starts from the carpark on Nimmings Lane.
• He could not remember exactly where the taxi ride started.
• Your tour starts at the Cathedral.
• Players start in the centre of the board and move outwards.
• The prints are not expensive, starting at $35.
• We start from the premise that every child matters.
• We are starting from a difficult position because we have very little information.
• I started with the idea that I wanted to write about family.
• It often helps to start with a simple question.
• The story starts in the mid 1960s in a small English town.
• The show starts with a bang and maintains the excitement throughout.
• The film starts well, but halfway through the story starts to drag.
• The team started strongly but faded in the second half.
• It's better to start slowly and learn as you go.
• She started relatively late as an artist.
• James started small with $5,000 in contracts.
• I start simple, with just a geometric shape.
• He started full of confidence, but something went wrong.
6. to begin, or to begin something such as a career, in a particular way that changed later
• She started as a secretary but ended up running the department.
• It started as a hobby and grew from there.
• The company started out with 30 employees.
• I started off as a dishwasher making 25 cents an hour.
• He started life as a teacher before turning to journalism.
• She started her career working for the BBC.

Extra Examples

• I started as a trainee and ended up a supervisor.
• It started as a joke, but we soon realized people were taking it seriously.
• The World Wide Web started as a way for scientists and academics to share information.
• The film started as an experiment to see if I could do something new.
• I started out washing cars at the golf club.
• It's probably best to start out renting equipment.
• We started off with just a few product lines.
• He started work as a butcher's boy and now has his own shop.
• I started my working life as a studio photographer.
• The magazine started life as a comic book in 1952.
• The building started life as a prison but was converted to a luxury hotel.
7. to begin a journey; to leave
• SYNONYM set off
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/set-off
• What time are we starting tomorrow?

Extra Examples

• She had started out late for the meeting.
• They had started out from Saigon the previous day.
• I should get there by the afternoon if I start early.
• Make sure you've got everything before we start.
• They started out at five o'clock in the morning.
• What time do we start?
8. to begin to move in a particular direction
• I started after her (= began to follow her) to tell her the news.
• He started for the door, but I blocked his way.
9. to move suddenly and quickly because you are surprised or afraid
• SYNONYM jump
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/jump_2
• The sudden noise made her start.
10. used to tell somebody not to complain or be critical
• Don't start! I told you I'd be late.
• Don't you start! It's hard enough managing the kids, without you complaining too.
11. to make something start happening; to make sure that something continues to happen
12. to start a relationship well/badly
• I seem to have got off on the wrong foot with the new boss.
13. to begin doing something
• It's nearly ten o'clock. Let's get started.
• It's already late, so I think we should get started.
14. to start a relationship well/badly
• I seem to have started off on the wrong foot with the new boss.
15. to cause trouble
16. used when you are giving the first and most important reason for something
• To start with it’s much too expensive…
17. at the beginning
• The club had only six members to start with.
• I'll have melon to start with.
• She wasn't keen on the idea to start with.
18. used to blame somebody for beginning a fight or an argument
• ‘Stop fighting, you two!’ ‘He started it!’

Word Origin

• Old English styrtan ‘to caper, leap’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch storten ‘push’ and German stürzen ‘fall headlong, fling’. From the sense ‘sudden movement’ arose the sense ‘initiation of movement, setting out on a journey’ and hence ‘beginning of a process, etc.’.