commence

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" [syn: get down, begin, get, start out, start, set about, set out] [ant: end]

2 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" [syn: begin, lead off, start] [ant: end]

3 get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: start, start up, embark on]

English

Etymology

Latin com- + initiare

Pronunciation

/kəˈmens/

Verb

1. to begin, to start

Antonyms

• cease

Related terms

• commencement

Translations

*Danish: begynde

• Dutch: aanvangen
• Finnish: aloittaa
• Norwegian: påbegynne
• Spanish: comenzar
• Swedish: börja

French

Verb form

commence

1. first-, third-person singular indicative present of commencer

arise, begin, blast away, blast off, come into being, dive in, embark, embark on, embark upon, enter, enter upon, establish, fall to, get to, go ahead, head into, inaugurate, initiate, jump off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, originate, pitch in, plunge into, send off, set about, set in, set out, set sail, set to, start, start in, start off, start out, take off, take up, turn to