be ‧ gin ‧ ning S1 W2 /bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun [countable usually singular]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ beginner , ↑ beginning ; verb : ↑ begin ]
1 . the start or first part of an event, story, period of time etc
beginning of
She’s been here since the beginning of the year.
There’s a short poem at the beginning of every chapter.
From the beginning of my career as a journalist, I’ve been writing about gender issues.
I thought he loved me; perhaps he did in the beginning.
That chance meeting marked the beginning of a long and happy relationship.
This is just the beginning of a new and different life for you.
I said he would cause trouble, right from the beginning.
I opposed it from the very beginning.
The whole trip was a disaster from beginning to end.
I feel like I’ve been offered a new beginning.
Could we start at the beginning? Tell me where you first met him.
2 . beginnings [plural] the early signs or stages of something that later develops into something bigger or more important
beginnings of
I think I have the beginnings of a cold.
from humble/small beginnings
He rose from humble beginnings to great wealth.
3 . the beginning of the end the time when something good starts to end
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a new beginning
The country needed a new government and a new beginning.
■ verbs
▪ mark the beginning of something ( also signal/herald the beginning of something ) (=show that something is starting to happen)
This event marked the beginning of a ten-year worldwide depression.
▪ see the beginning of something (=be the time when something important starts to happen)
The 1970s saw the beginning of a technological revolution.
■ phrases
▪ right at/from the beginning (=used for emphasis)
That’s what I suggested right at the beginning.
▪ at/from the very beginning (=used for emphasis)
He had been lying to me from the very beginning.
▪ start at the beginning (=start a story or activity at the first part)
Just start at the beginning and tell us exactly what happened.
▪ from beginning to end
The whole project was full of problems from beginning to end.
▪ something is just/only the beginning (=used to emphasize that many more things will happen)
Signing the contract is just the beginning of a long process.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ beginning the first part of something such as a story, event, or period of time:
The beginning of the movie is very violent.
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Let’s go back to the beginning.
▪ start the beginning of something, or the way something begins:
Tomorrow marks the start of the presidential election campaign.
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It was not a good start to the day.
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The runners lined up for the start of the race.
▪ commencement formal the beginning of something – used especially in official contexts:
the commencement of the academic year
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the commencement of the contract
▪ origin the point from which something starts to exist:
He wrote a book about the origins of the universe.
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The tradition has its origins in medieval times.
▪ the onset of something the time when something bad begins, such as illness, old age, or cold weather:
the onset of winter
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An active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases common to aging.
▪ dawn literary the beginning of an important period of time in history:
People have worshipped gods since the dawn of civilization.
▪ birth the beginning of something important that will change many people’s lives:
the birth of democracy in South Africa
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the birth of the environmental movement