Word.ws English Dictionary

onset

Syllables: on·set/ˈɔnˌsɛt//ˈɒnˌsɛt/

onset noun: the initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.

Noun

onset (plural onsets)

  1. (countable) The initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.
    • the onset of schizophrenia
    • After four days, the man claimed to be hearing hushed, unintelligible voices in his head. Assuming it was an onset of psychosis, the scientists paid little attention to the man’s concerns.2009 November 23, “Gateway of the Mind”, in Creepypasta, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2009
  2. The initial portion of a syllable, preceding the syllable nucleus.
    • The only regular sources for Sardinian *θ are Lat. ci̯ and ti̯, which are absent from Latin onsets. This means that the substantial number of words starting in *θ, discussed in § 3 – 7, cannot regularly continue a Latin form.2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 390
  3. (acoustics) The beginning of a musical note or other sound, in which the amplitude rises from zero to an initial peak.
  4. A setting about; a beginning.
    • the onset of puberty
    • There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Delays”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
  5. (obsolete) Anything added, such as an ornament or as a useful appendage.
    • And will with deeds requite thy gentleness:
      And, for an onset, Titus, to advance
      Thy name and honourable family,
      Lavinia will I make my empress.c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  6. (archaic) An attack; an assault especially of an army.
    • Heralds, from off our towers, we might behold
      From first to last, the onset and retire
      Of both your armiesc. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • Who on that day the word of onset gave.1800, William Wordsworth, Six thousand Veterans
    Synonyms:
    storming

Verb

onset (third-person singular simple present onsets, present participle onsetting, simple past and past participle onset)

  1. (obsolete) To assault; to set upon.
  2. (obsolete) To set about; to begin.

Proper noun capitalized: Onset

Onset

  1. A census-designated place in the town of Wareham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.

onset meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

onset in Hindi

onset
शुरू śurū

onset in Tamil

தொடக்கம்

onset in Marathi

setting about, beginning
प्रारंभ prārambha, उद्धव uddhav
(archaic) attack, assault
हल्ला hallā

onset in Urdu

onset
ڈکی ḍikkī, شروع śurū'
More languagesFewer languages
onset in Bengali
সূচনা, প্রারম্ভ, আক্রমণ
onset in Malayalam
ഒരു ആക്രമണം, ആവേശകരമായ ഒരു തുടക്കം
onset in Kannada
ಆಕ್ರಮಣ, ದಾಳಿ, ಹಲ್ಲೆ, ಮೇಲೆರಗುವಿಕೆ
onset in Pashto
شروع šoro
onset in Indonesian
awitan
onset in Persian
آغازه âġâze

Examples of onset in a sentence

  • The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages.2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
  • And Peter's tired army cheered, and the newcomers roared, and the enemy squealed and gibbered till the wood re-echoed with the din of that onset.1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

All 40 example sentences with onset

Synonyms of onset

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of onset

Forms of onset

Noun
pluralonsets
Verb
third-person singular presentonsets
present participleonsetting
past participleonset
pastonset

Plural of onset: onsets

Origin of onset

From on- + set. Compare Old English onsettan (“to impose; oppress, bear down”). For semantic parallels for the meaning to assault, compare cognate Russian насе́сть pf (naséstʹ), наседа́ть impf (nasedátʹ).

Words formed from onset

Phrases with onset

Questions about onset

What does onset mean?
Onset means the initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.
What is onset in Hindi?
Onset in Hindi is शुरू (śurū). See Onset meaning in Hindi.
How do you use onset in a sentence?
The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages.
What part of speech is onset?
Onset can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce onset?
Onset is pronounced /ˈɒnˌsɛt/ (UK).
What is the plural of onset?
The plural of onset is onsets.

Words near onset in the dictionary

  1. onsen tamago
  2. onsend
  3. onsending
  4. onsends
  5. onsens
  6. onset
  7. onsets
  8. onsetter
  9. onsetters
  10. onsetting
  11. onsettings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: onset (page history and authors); Onset (page history and authors); शुरू (Hindi) (page history and authors); onset (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); شروع (Urdu) (page history and authors); onset (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); onset (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); onset (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); شروع (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “onset.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/onset. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.