Word Games Pro Dictionary

begin

verb

take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

Quick reference

Word Facts

Word length
5
Starts with
B
Ends with
N
Contains
EG
Scrabble score
8
Database source
OEWN 2025 Core

How it sounds

Pronunciation

bɪˈɡɪn

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Audio Pronunciation

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Meaning

Definitions

verb

  1. take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

    “We began working at dawn”

verb

  1. set in motion, cause to start

    “The U.S. started a war in the Middle East”

verb

  1. begin to speak or say

    “‘Now listen, friends’, he began”

verb

  1. begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language

    “She began Russian at an early age”

verb

  1. achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative

    “This economic measure doesn't even begin to deal with the problem of inflation”

verb

  1. begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object

    “begin a cigar”

verb

  1. have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense

    “The DMZ begins right over the hill”

verb

  1. have a beginning characterized in some specified way

    “The novel begins with a murder”

verb

  1. have a beginning, of a temporal event

    “WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland”

verb

  1. be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series

    “The number ‘one’ begins the sequence”

In context

Example Sentences

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
The U.S. started a war in the Middle East
The Iraqis began hostilities
begin a new chapter in your life
‘Now listen, friends’, he began
She began Russian at an early age
we began French in fourth grade
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
begin a cigar
She started the soup while it was still hot
We started physics in 10th grade
The DMZ begins right over the hill
The second movement begins after the Allegro
Prices for these homes start at $250,000
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
WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland
The company's Asia tour begins next month
The number ‘one’ begins the sequence
A terrible murder begins the novel
The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester

Similar words

Synonyms

Opposite words

Antonyms

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