begin meaning and definition

BEGIN noun

Definition of Begin (noun)

1. Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
   • synonyms: Menachem Begin

BEGIN verb

Definition of begin (verb)

1. 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"; "Let's get down to work now"
   • synonyms: commence, get, get down, set about, set out, start, start out
   • antonym: end
2. 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"
   • synonyms: start
   • antonym: cease
3. 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"
   • synonyms: commence, lead off, start
   • antonym: end
4. begin to speak or say
   • "Now listen, friends," he began
5. be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series
   • "The number `one' begins the sequence"; "A terrible murder begins the novel"; "The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"
6. have a beginning, of a temporal event
   • "WW II began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland"; "The company's Asia tour begins next month"
7. 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 workout"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"
   • synonyms: start
8. 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"
   • synonyms: start
9. 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"; "You cannot even begin to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war"
10. begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language
    • "She began Russian at an early age"; "We started French in fourth grade"