beginning Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the event consisting of the start of something
    • the beginning of the war
  2. noun the time at which something is supposed to begin
    outset; get-go; showtime; starting time; kickoff; start; offset; commencement; first.
    • they got an early start
    • she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her
  3. noun the first part or section of something
    • `It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story
  4. noun the place where something begins, where it springs into being
    origin; root; rootage; source.
    • the Italian beginning of the Renaissance
    • Jupiter was the origin of the radiation
    • Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River
    • communism's Russian root
  5. noun the act of starting something
    start; commencement.
    • he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations
  6. verb take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
    begin; get; start out; set about; start; set out; get down; commence.
    • 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
    • Let's get down to work now
  7. verb have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense
    start; begin.
    • The DMZ begins right over the hill
    • The second movement begins after the Allegro
    • Prices for these homes start at $250,000
  8. verb set in motion, cause to start
    lead off; start; begin; commence.
    • The U.S. started a war in the Middle East
    • The Iraqis began hostilities
    • begin a new chapter in your life
  9. verb begin to speak or say
    begin.
    • Now listen, friends," he began
  10. verb be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series
    begin.
    • The number `one' begins the sequence
    • A terrible murder begins the novel
    • The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester
  11. verb have a beginning, of a temporal event
    begin.
    • WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland
    • The company's Asia tour begins next month
  12. verb have a beginning characterized in some specified way
    start; begin.
    • The novel begins with a murder
    • My property begins with the three maple trees
    • Her day begins with a workout
    • The semester begins with a convocation ceremony
  13. verb begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object
    start; begin.
    • begin a cigar
    • She started the soup while it was still hot
    • We started physics in 10th grade
  14. verb achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative
    begin.
    • This economic measure doesn't even begin to deal with the problem of inflation
    • You cannot even begin to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war
  15. verb begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language
    begin.
    • She began Russian at an early age
    • We started French in fourth grade
  16. adjective satellite serving to begin
    first.
    • the beginning canto of the poem
    • the first verse

WordNet


Be*gin"ning noun
Definitions
  1. The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.
    In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1.
  2. That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin; source.
    I am . . . the beginning and the ending. Rev. i. 8.
  3. That which is begun; a rudiment or element.
    Mighty things from small beginnings grow. Dryden.
  4. Enterprise. "To hinder our beginnings." Shak. Syn. -- Inception; prelude; opening; threshold; origin; outset; foundation.

Webster 1913