Word.ws English Dictionary

start

/stɑːt//stɑɹt/

start noun: the beginning of an activity. Also the alternative letter-case form of Start.

Noun (1)

start (plural starts)

  1. The beginning of an activity.
    • The movie was entertaining from start to finish.
    • I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, / Straining upon the start.1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. A sudden involuntary movement.
    • He woke with a start.
    • Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
  3. The beginning point of a race, a board game, etc.
    • Captured pieces are returned to the start of the board.
  4. 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.
    • Wilshere, who made his first start for England in the midweek friendly win over Denmark, raced into the penalty area and chose to cross rather than shoot - one of the very few poor selections he made in the match.2011 February 12, Ian Hughes, “Arsenal 2 - 0 Wolverhampton”, in BBC
  5. 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.2009, Liz Primeau, Steven A. Frowine, Gardening Basics For Canadians For Dummies
  6. An initial advantage over somebody else; a head start.
    • to get, or have, the start
    • The man has got two clear days' start and the chances are nine to one against catching him.1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados
  7. (UK, archaic, slang) A happening or proceeding.
    • “It's a rum start, old John Madingley's coming down to Tunnleton,” said Grafton, one evening in the smoking-room; […]1887, Hawley Smart, A False Start, volume 2, page 69

Verb

start (third-person singular simple present starts, present participle starting, simple past and past participle started)

  1. (ergative) To set in motion.
    • to start a stream of water; to start a rumour; to start a business
    • I was some years ago engaged in conversation with a fashionable French Abbe, upon a subject which the people of that kingdom love to start in discourse.April 2, 1716, Joseph Addison, Freeholder No. 30
  2. (ergative) To begin.
    • The President fired the gun to start the footrace.
    • The rain started at 9:00.
  3. (ergative) To ready the operation of a vehicle or machine.
    • to start the engine
  4. (ergative) To put or raise (a question, an objection); to put forward (a subject for discussion).
  5. (ergative) To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent.
    • Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start.1674, William Temple, letter to The Countess of Essex
  6. (intransitive) To have its origin (at), begin.
    • The speed limit is 50 km/h, starting at the edge of town.
    • The blue line starts one foot away from the wall.
  7. (intransitive) To jerk, jump up, flinch, or draw back in surprise.
    • But if he start,
      It is the flesh of a corrupted heart.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord
      VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood,
      Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres,
      Thy knotty and combined locks to part,
      And each particular haire to ſtand an end,
      Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    Synonyms:
    jump
  8. (intransitive) To awaken suddenly.
    • I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; [...]1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter IV, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding...
  9. (transitive) To disturb and set in motion; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee.
    • The hounds started a fox.
    • Upon malicious bravery dost thou come
      To start my quiet?c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  10. (ergative) To come loose, to break free of a firmly set position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate.
    • the storm started the bolts in the vessel
    • One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternon.1676, Richard Wiseman, Severall Chirurgicall Treatises, London: […] E. Flesher and J. Macock, for R[ichard] Royston […], and B[enjamin] Took, […], →OCLC
  11. (transitive) To put into play.
    • 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.2010, Brian Glanville, The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to South Africa 2010, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 361
    • “Look at Portu,” Michel insisted, “he scores goals and I never start him. He says: ‘You’re sinking me, but OK, I’ll just go out and score again.’”2024 May 6, Sid Lowe, “Portu’s brilliant burst seals Girona’s top-four fairytale in the perfect way”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  12. (transitive) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from.
    • to start a water cask
  13. (euphemistic, intransitive) To begin one's menstrual cycle.
    • Have you started yet?
  14. (intransitive, obsolete, possibly) To begin a journey; to set forth.
    • I GET letters from you far too seldom considering that you can much more easily find people starting for Rome than I to Athens: considering, too, that you are more certain of my being at Rome than I of your being at Athens.1920, Cicero, translated by Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh, The Letters of Cicero: The Whole Extant Correspondence in Chronological Order, volume 1 (hardcover), London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., page 5

Noun (2)

start (plural starts)

  1. An instance of starting.

Noun (3)

start (plural starts)

  1. A projection or protrusion; that which pokes out.
  2. 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.1845, Captain R.E. Crawley, Description of a Water-Course, Wharf, and Water-Wheel, erected at Waltham Abbey, Essex […]
  3. 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[…]1834, William Andrus Alcott, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Parley's Magazine, page 364
    • […] so that the horse may not expend his force in an oblique direction, but get a fair pull on the "starts."1854, Glynn, Rudimentary Treatise on the Construction of Cranes and Machinery for Raising Heavy Bodies, page 13

Adverb

start (comparative more start, superlative most start)

  1. (archaic, dialectal) Completely, utterly.
    • 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.1828 August 22, “Militia System”, in The New England Farmer, volume VII, Boston, M.A.: John B. Russell, published 1829, page 40, column 1

Noun (4) capitalized: START

START (uncountable)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of simple triage and rapid treatment.
  2. (alternative) 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”)

Proper noun (1) capitalized: START

START

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Noun (5) capitalized: Start

Start (plural Starts)

  1. A typical button for video games, originally used to start a game, now also often to pause or choose an option.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Start

Start (plural Starts)

  1. A surname from Old English.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Start

the Start

  1. (UK, obsolete, slang) The city of London, England.
    • 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...1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861

Also used as

start is also the alternative letter-case form of Start.

start meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

start in Hindi

to begin
शुरू करना śurū karnā

start in Tamil

beginning of an activity
தொடக்கம் toṭakkam, ஆரம்பம் ārampam
to begin
ஆரம்பி ārampi, துவங்கு tuvaṅku, தொடங்கு toṭaṅku
to initiate operation of a vehicle or machine
கிளப்பு kiḷappu

start in Marathi

to begin
सुरू करणे surū karṇe

start in Urdu

شروع کریں, شروع کرو, آغاز کریں
More languagesFewer languages
start in Bengali
ইবতিদা ibtida, শুরু śuru, আগাজ agaz, শুরু করা śuru kora
start in Telugu
ఆరంభము ārambhamu, ప్రారంభము prārambhamu
start in Malayalam
ആരംഭിക്കുക, തുടങ്ങുക
start in Kannada
ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ, ಆರಂಭಿಸಿ, ಆರಂಭ
start in Punjabi
ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰੋ, ਅਰੰਭ ਕਰੋ, ਸ਼ੁਰੂਆਤ ਕਰੋ
start in Gujarati
શરૂ કરો, પ્રારંભ કરો, શરૂઆત કરો
start in Odia
ଆରମ୍ଭ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଆରମ୍ଭ କର, ଆରମ୍ଭ
start in Sanskrit
आद āda, आरम्भ ārambha
start in Assamese
আৰম্ভ arombho, আৰম্ভ কৰ arombho kor
start in Nepali
शुरू गर्नु śurū garnu
start in Tagalog
simula, magsimula
start in Arabic
نَجْمَة najma, اِبْتِدَاء ibtidāʔ, بَدَأَ badaʔa
start in Malay
menjalankan
start in Indonesian
menjalankan
start in Persian
آغاز âġâz, آغاز کردن āghāz kardan, شروع کردن shorū’ kardan, آغازیدن âġâzidan
start in Thai
เริ่ม rə̂əm, เริ่มต้น rə̂əm-dtôn, ตั้งต้น
start in Vietnamese
bắt đầu
start in Myanmar
စ ca.

Examples of start in a sentence

  • The sight of his scared face, his starts and pallors and sudden harkenings, unstrung me […]1885, Robert Louis Stevenson, Olalla:
  • A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven.2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
  • This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’ […].” So I started to back away again into the bushes.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

All 40 example sentences with start

Synonyms of start

Antonyms

Forms of start

Noun
pluralstarts
alternative pronunciation-spellingsta't
alternative pronunciation-spellingstaht
pluralStarts
alternative formstart
Verb
third-person singular presentstarts
present participlestarting
past participlestarted
paststarted
Adverb
comparativemore start
superlativemost start
Proper noun
pluralStarts

Past tense of start: started

Plural of start: starts

Origin of start

From Middle English stert, from the verb sterten (“to start, startle”). See below.

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.

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”).

Words formed from start

Phrases with start

31 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with start

32 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about start

What does start mean?
Start means the beginning of an activity.
What is start in Hindi?
Start in Hindi is शुरू करना (śurū karnā). See Start meaning in Hindi.
How do you use start in a sentence?
The sight of his scared face, his starts and pallors and sudden harkenings, unstrung me […]
What part of speech is start?
Start can be a noun, a verb, an adverb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce start?
Start is pronounced /stɑːt/ (UK).
What is the plural of start?
The plural of start is starts.

Words near start in the dictionary

  1. starstone
  2. starstones
  3. starstruck
  4. starstudded
  5. starstuff
  6. start
  7. start a family
  8. start a fresh hare
  9. start a hare
  10. start a hare running
  11. start afresh

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: start (page history and authors); START (page history and authors); Start (page history and authors); start (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); start (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); start (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); start (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); start (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); start (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-start.wav, En-us-start.ogg.

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