Definitions for: Start


[n] the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations"
[n] a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning); "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"
[n] a sudden involuntary movement; "he awoke with a start"
[n] advantage gained by an early start as in a race; "with an hour's start he will be hard to catch"
[n] a signal to begin (as in a race); "the starting signal was a green light"; "the runners awaited the start"
[n] the beginning of anything; "it was off to a good start"
[n] a line indicating the location of the start of a race
[n] the time at which something begins; "They got an early start"
[v] take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "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"
[v] set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life"
[v] play in the starting line-up, in team sports
[v] bring into being; "He initiated a new program"; "Start a foundation"
[v] get off the ground; "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"
[v] get going or set in motion; "We simply could not start the engine"
[v] begin or set in motion; "I start at eight in the morning"; "Ready, set, go!"
[v] move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm; "She startled when I walked into the room"
[v] leave; "The family took off for Florida"
[v] begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job; "Take up a position"; "start a new job"
[v] begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object; "begin a cigar"; "She started the soup while it was still hot"; "We started physics in 10th grade"
[v] have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense; "The DMZ begins right over the hill"; "The second movement begins after the Allegro"; "Prices for these homes start at $250,000"
[v] have a beginning characterized in some specified way; "The novel begins with a murder"; "My property begins with the three maple trees"; "Her day begins with a work-out"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"



Webster (1913) Definition: Start, v. i. [imp. & p. p. started; p. pr. & vb. n.
starting.] [OE. sterten; akin to D. storten 8hurl, rush,
fall, G. st["u]rzen, OHG. sturzen to turn over, to fall, Sw.
st["o]ra to cast down, to fall, Dan. styrte, and probably
also to E. start a tail; the original sense being, perhaps,
to show the tail, to tumble over suddenly. [root]166. Cf.
Start a tail.]
1. To leap; to jump. [Obs.]

2. To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise,
pain, or other sudden feeling or emotion, or by a
voluntary act.

And maketh him out of his sleep to start. --Chaucer.

I start as from some dreadful dream. --Dryden.

Keep your soul to the work when ready to start
aside. --I. Watts.

But if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted
heart. --Shak.

3. To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to
begin; as, to start business.

At once they start, advancing in a line. --Dryden.

At intervals some bird from out the brakes Starts
into voice a moment, then is still. --Byron.

4. To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a
seam may start under strain or pressure.

To start after, to set out after; to follow; to pursue.

To start against, to act as a rival candidate against.

To start for, to be a candidate for, as an office.

To start up, to rise suddenly, as from a seat or couch; to
come suddenly into notice or importance.


Start, v. t.
1. 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.

Upon malicious bravery dost thou come To start my
quiet? --Shak.

Brutus will start a spirit as soon as C[ae]sar.
--Shak.

2. To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent.

Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure
they can start. --Sir W.
Temple.

3. 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.

I was engaged in conversation upon a subject which
the people love to start in discourse. --Addison.

4. 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.

One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the
clavicle from the sternum. --Wiseman.

5. [Perh. from D. storten, which has this meaning also.]
(Naut.) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing
from; as, to start a water cask.


Start, n.
1. 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.

The fright awakened Arcite with a start. --Dryden.

2. A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort.

For she did speak in starts distractedly. --Shak.

Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a
hurry. --L'Estrange.

3. A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious
impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy.

To check the starts and sallies of the soul.
--Addison.

4. 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.

The start of first performance is all. --Bacon.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. --Shak.

At a start, at once; in an instant. [Obs.]

At a start he was betwixt them two. --Chaucer.

To get, or have, the start, to before another; to gain
or have the advantage in a similar undertaking; -- usually
with of. ``Get the start of the majestic world.'' --Shak.
``She might have forsaken him if he had not got the start
of her.'' --Dryden.


Start, n. [OE. stert a tail, AS. steort; akin to LG.
stert, steert, D. staart, G. sterz, Icel. stertr, Dan.
stiert, Sw. stjert. [root]166. Cf. Stark naked, under
Stark, Start, v. i.]
1. A tail, or anything projecting like a tail.

2. The handle, or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle.
[Prov. Eng.]

3. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel
bucket.

4. (Mining) The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a
horse.

Synonyms: begin, begin, begin, beginning, beginning, commence, commence, commencement, commencement, depart, embark on, first, get, head start, initiate, jump, kickoff, lead off, offset, originate, outset, part, set about, set forth, set off, set out, set out, start out, start out, start up, start up, starting, starting line, starting signal, starting time, startle, startle, take up

Antonyms: cease, end, end, end, ending, finish, finish, finishing, halt, middle, stop, stop, terminate, terminate

See Also: accession, act, activation, adrenarche, advantage, alpha, attack, attack, auspicate, be, begin, beginning, bestir oneself, birth, blaze, blaze out, boggle, break in, break out, bud, change of state, come on, come on, come up, constitution, crank, crank up, create, Creation, curtain raising, date back, date from, dawn, dawn, debut, dispense with, embark, embark on, enter, entry, erupt, establishment, face-off, fall, first appearance, first step, flinch, flying start, formation, foundation, founding, get cracking, get going, get going, get moving, get off the ground, get rolling, get started, get to, get weaving, give up, go, go away, go back, go forth, go on, groundbreaking, groundbreaking ceremony, hot-wire, housing start, icebreaker, inaugurate, inaugurate, inauguration, inborn reflex, incipience, incipiency, initiation, initiative, innate reflex, innovation, installation, installing, installment, instauration, instinctive reflex, institution, introduce, introduction, jump, jump ball, jump off, jumpstart, kick in, kick off, kickoff, kickoff, launch, launching, lead off, lead up, leave, lift off, line, make, menarche, morning, Moro reflex, move, move, oncoming, onset, open, opener, opening, opening, opening move, opening night, organisation, organization, originate, originate in, origination, part with, physiological reaction, play, play, plunge, point, point in time, racing start, rear back, recommencement, reflex, restart, resumption, rise to power, roar off, running start, sally forth, sally out, scrum, scrummage, send-off, set, set in, set off, shy, sign, signal, signaling, spare, start, start, start, start up, starting point, startle reaction, startle reflex, startle response, start-off, startup, strike out, take off, take office, terminus a quo, thelarche, threshold, tone-beginning, turn, unconditioned reflex, unveiling, usher in, vantage, wince

Try our:
Scrabble Word Finder

Scrabble Cheat

Words With Friends Cheat

Hanging With Friends Cheat

Scramble With Friends Cheat

Ruzzle Cheat



Related Resources:
t letter animals
animals begin with e
animals beginning with t