begin

Meanings

Noun

• Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)

Verb

• take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
• have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense
  • "The DMZ begins right over the hill"
  • "The second movement begins after the Allegro"
• set in motion, cause to start
  • "begin a new chapter in your life"
• begin to speak or say; he began
• be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series
  • "The number `one' begins the sequence"
  • "A terrible murder begins the novel"
  • "The convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"
• have a beginning, of a temporal event
  • "The company's Asia tour begins next month"
• have a beginning characterized in some specified way
  • "The novel begins with a murder"
  • "My property begins with the three maple trees"
  • "Her day begins with a workout"
  • "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"
• begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object
  • "begin a cigar"
• 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"
• begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language

Synonyms

commence, get, get down, lead off, Menachem Begin, set about, set out, start, start out

Antonyms

end