(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ to do something, you do something that you were not doing before and you continue doing it.
John then unlocked the front door and I ~ed to follow him up the stairs...
It was 1956 when Susanna ~ed the work on the garden...
She ~ed cleaning the kitchen.
= begin
VERB: V to-inf, V n/-ing, V n/-ing
•
Start is also a noun.
After several ~s, she read the report properly.
N-COUNT
2.
When something ~s, or if someone ~s it, it takes place from a particular time.
The fire is thought to have ~ed in an upstairs room...
The Great War ~ed in August of that year...
All of the passengers ~ed the day with a swim.
= begin
VERB: V prep, V prep, V n
•
Start is also a noun.
...1918, four years after the ~ of the Great War...
She demanded to know why she had not been told from the ~.
= beginning
N-SING: the N
3.
If you ~ by doing something, or if you ~ with something, you do that thing first in a series of actions.
I ~ed by asking how many day-care centers were located in the United States...
He ~ed with a good holiday in Key West, Florida.
= begin
VERB: V by -ing, V with n
4.
You use ~ to say what someone’s first job was. For example, if their first job was that of a factory worker, you can say that they ~ed as a factory worker.
Betty ~ed as a shipping clerk at the clothes factory...
VERB: V as n
•
Start off means the same as ~ .
Mr. Dambar had ~ed off as an assistant to Mrs. Spear’s husband.
PHRASAL VERB: V P as n
5.
When someone ~s something such as a new business, they create it or cause it to begin.
Now is probably as good a time as any to ~ a business.
VERB: V n
•
Start up means the same as ~ .
The cost of ~ing up a day care center for children ranges from $150,000 to $300,000...
He said what a good idea it would be to ~ a community magazine up.
= set up
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P
see also ~-up
6.
If you ~ an engine, car, or machine, or if it ~s, it begins to work.
He ~ed the car, which hummed smoothly...
We were just passing one of the parking bays when a car’s engine ~ed.
VERB: V n, V
•
Start up means the same as ~ .
He waited until they went inside the building before ~ing up the car and driving off...
Put the key in the ignition and turn it to ~ the car up...
The engine of the seaplane ~ed up.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P
7.
If you ~, your body suddenly moves slightly as a result of surprise or fear.
She put the bottle on the table, banging it down hard. He ~ed at the sound...
VERB: V
•
Start is also a noun.
Sylvia woke with a ~...
He gave a ~ of surprise and astonishment.
N-COUNT: usu sing
8.
see also head ~ , false ~
9.
You use for a ~ or to ~ with to introduce the first of a number of things or reasons that you want to mention or could mention.
You must get her name and address, and that can be a problem for a ~...
PHRASE: PHR with cl/group
10.
If you get off to a good ~, you are successful in the early stages of doing something. If you get off to a bad ~, you are not successful in the early stages of doing something.
The new Prime Minister has got off to a good ~, but he still has to demonstrate what manner of leader he is going to be...
PHRASE: V inflects
11.
To ~ with means at the very first stage of an event or process.
To ~ with, the pressure on her was very heavy, but it’s eased off a bit now...
PHRASE: PHR with cl
12.
in fits and ~s: see fit
to get off to a flying ~: see flying