1. The event consisting of the start of something
   "the beginning of the war"
    
2. The time when something begins
   "she knew from the beginning that he was the man for her";
   - commencement, outset, get-go [N. Amer], start, kickoff, starting time, showtime
    
3. The first part or section of something
   "‘It was a dark and stormy night’ is a hackneyed beginning for a story"
    
4. The act of starting something
   "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations";
   - start, commencement
    
5. The place where something begins, where it springs into being
   "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance";
   - origin, root, rootage, source

1. Of or relating to the initial or early part of something
   "the beginning canto of the poem";
   - first

1. Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
   "We began working at dawn"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day";
   - get down, get, start out, start, set about, set out
    
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";
   - start
    
3. Set in motion, cause to start
   "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life";
   - lead off, start, commence
    
4. Start speaking or saying
   "‘Now listen, friends’, he began"
    
5. Be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series
   "The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"; "The number ‘one’ begins the sequence"; "A terrible murder begins the novel"
    
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
   "My property begins with the three maple trees"; "Her day begins with a workout"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"; "The novel begins with a murder";
   - start
    
8. Begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object
   "begin a cigar";
   - start
    
9. Begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language
   "She began Russian at an early age"; "we began French in fourth grade"
    
10. 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"

Derived forms: beginnings

See also: opening

Type of: accomplish, achieve, act, attain, be, cause, change, change of state, division, exist, get, happening, have, induce, make, mouth, move, natural event, occurrence, occurrent, part, point, point in time, reach, section, speak, stimulate, talk, utter, verbalise [Brit], verbalize

Antonym: conclusion, end, middle, stop

Encyclopedia: Beginning