beginning — English Dictionary

Noun

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.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

2. That which is begun; a rudiment or element.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

3. That which begins or originates something; the source or first cause.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   What was the beginning of the dispute?

4. The initial portion of some extended thing.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   The author describes the main character’s youth at the beginning of the story.

   That house is at the beginning of the street.

   More examples (3)

   To mark this absolutism of change over the works of man is both pleasing and profitable, for what is more emotional than to observe the hoarness, the mellowness, and the natural final decay of objects whose beginnings date almost from the immemorial […] ?

   Basic skills are introduced at this time, such as the use of context or meaning clues and the beginning sounds of words.

   “Is anything the matter?” Lady Lindstrom asked anxiously. “No,” Megan told her. “I’m merely trying to decide where the beginning is.” “Perhaps at the beginning,” the Chief Constable prompted, rather stupidly, Megan thought. “Which beginning?” she asked.

Adjective

1. Being the first portion of some extended thing.

   Usage

   • Informal
   • not-comparable

   Synonyms

   firstinitial

   Examples

   in the beginning paragraph of the chapter

   in the beginning section of the course

Adjective

1. serving to begin

   Synonyms

   first

   Examples

   the beginning canto of the poem

   the first verse

Noun

1. the event consisting of the start of something

   Antonyms

   ending

   Broader terms

   happeningoccurrenceoccurrentnatural event

   Examples

   the beginning of the war

2. the time at which something is supposed to begin

   Synonyms

   commencementfirstoutsetget-gostartkickoffstarting timeshowtimeoffset

   Antonyms

   middleend

   Broader terms

   pointpoint in time

   Examples

   they got an early start

   she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her

3. the first part or section of something

   Antonyms

   middleend

   Broader terms

   partsectiondivision

   Examples

   ‘It was a dark and stormy night’ is a hackneyed beginning for a story

4. the place where something begins, where it springs into being

   Synonyms

   originrootrootagesource

   Broader terms

   point

   Examples

   the Italian beginning of the Renaissance

   Jupiter was the origin of the radiation

   More examples (2)

   Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River

   communism's Russian root

5. the act of starting something

   Synonyms

   startcommencement

   Broader terms

   change of state

   Examples

   he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations