From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
start
n 1: the beginning of anything; "it was off to a good start"
2: the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got
an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the
man for her" [syn: beginning, commencement, first,
outset, get-go, start, kickoff, starting time,
showtime, offset] [ant: end, ending, middle]
3: a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning); "he got
his start because one of the regular pitchers was in the
hospital"; "his starting meant that the coach thought he was
one of their best linemen" [syn: start, starting]
4: a sudden involuntary movement; "he awoke with a start" [syn:
startle, jump, start]
5: the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the
beginning of negotiations" [syn: beginning, start,
commencement] [ant: finish, finishing]
6: a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a
game [syn: start, starting line, scratch, {scratch
line}]
7: a signal to begin (as in a race); "the starting signal was a
green light"; "the runners awaited the start" [syn: {starting
signal}, start]
8: the advantage gained by beginning early (as in a race); "with
an hour's start he will be hard to catch" [syn: start,
head start]
v 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, commence]
[ant: end, terminate]
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,
commence] [ant: end, terminate]
3: leave; "The family took off for Florida" [syn: depart,
part, start, start out, set forth, set off, {set
out}, take off]
4: have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative
sense; "The DMZ begins right over the hill"; "The second
movement begins after the Allegro"; "Prices for these homes
start at $250,000" [syn: begin, start] [ant: cease,
end, finish, stop, terminate]
5: bring into being; "He initiated a new program"; "Start a
foundation" [syn: originate, initiate, start]
6: 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, commence]
7: move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm; "She
startled when I walked into the room" [syn: startle,
jump, start]
8: get going or set in motion; "We simply could not start the
engine"; "start up the computer" [syn: start, start up]
[ant: stop]
9: begin or set in motion; "I start at eight in the morning";
"Ready, set, go!" [syn: start, go, get going] [ant:
halt, stop]
10: begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job;
"Take up a position"; "start a new job" [syn: start, {take
up}]
11: play in the starting lineup
12: 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" [syn: begin,
start]
13: begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or
inherent function of the direct object; "begin a cigar";
"She started the soup while it was still hot"; "We started
physics in 10th grade" [syn: begin, start]
14: bulge outward; "His eyes popped" [syn: start, protrude,
pop, pop out, bulge, bulge out, bug out, {come
out}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
start \start\ (st[aum]rt), v. i. [imp. & p. p. started; p. pr.
& vb. n. starting.] [OE. sterten; akin to D. storten to
hurl, rush, fall, G. st["u]rzen, OHG. sturzen to turn over,
to fall, Sw. st["o]rta to cast down, to fall, Dan. styrte,
and probably also to E. start a tail; the original sense
being, perhaps, to show the tail, to tumble over suddenly.
[root]166. Cf. Start a tail.]
1. To leap; to jump. [Obs.]
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2. To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise,
pain, or other sudden feeling or emotion, or by a
voluntary act.
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And maketh him out of his sleep to start. --Chaucer.
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I start as from some dreadful dream. --Dryden.
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Keep your soul to the work when ready to start
aside. --I. Watts.
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But if he start,
It is the flesh of a corrupted heart. --Shak.
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3. To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to
begin; as, to start in business.
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At once they start, advancing in a line. --Dryden.
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At intervals some bird from out the brakes
Starts into voice a moment, then is still. --Byron.
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4. To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a
seam may start under strain or pressure.
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To start after, to set out after; to follow; to pursue.
To start against, to act as a rival candidate against.
To start for, to be a candidate for, as an office.
To start up, to rise suddenly, as from a seat or couch; to
come suddenly into notice or importance.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Start \Start\ (st[aum]rt), v. t.
1. To cause to move suddenly; to disturb suddenly; to
startle; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee or fly; as,
the hounds started a fox.
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Upon malicious bravery dost thou come
To start my quiet? --Shak.
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Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
--Shak.
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2. To bring into being or into view; to originate; to invent.
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Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure
they can start. --Sir W.
Temple.
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3. To cause to move or act; to set going, running, or
flowing; as, to start a railway train; to start a mill; to
start a stream of water; to start a rumor; to start a
business.
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I was engaged in conversation upon a subject which
the people love to start in discourse. --Addison.
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4. To move suddenly from its place or position; to displace
or loosen; to dislocate; as, to start a bone; the storm
started the bolts in the vessel.
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One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the
clavicle from the sternum. --Wiseman.
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5. [Perh. from D. storten, which has this meaning also.]
(Naut.) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing
from; as, to start a water cask.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Start \Start\, n.
1. The act of starting; a sudden spring, leap, or motion,
caused by surprise, fear, pain, or the like; any sudden
motion, or beginning of motion.
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The fright awakened Arcite with a start. --Dryden.
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2. A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort.
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For she did speak in starts distractedly. --Shak.
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Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a
hurry. --L'Estrange.
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3. A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious
impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy.
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To check the starts and sallies of the soul.
--Addison.
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4. The beginning, as of a journey or a course of action;
first motion from a place; act of setting out; the outset;
-- opposed to finish.
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The start of first performance is all. --Bacon.
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I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. --Shak.
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At a start, at once; in an instant. [Obs.]
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At a start he was betwixt them two. --Chaucer.
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To get the start, or To have the start, to begin before
another; to gain or have the advantage in a similar
undertaking; -- usually with of. "Get the start of the
majestic world." --Shak. "She might have forsaken him if
he had not got the start of her." --Dryden.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Start \Start\, n. [OE. stert a tail, AS. steort; akin to LG.
stert, steert, D. staart, G. sterz, Icel. stertr, Dan.
stiert, Sw. stjert. [root]166. Cf. Stark naked, under
Stark, Start, v. i.]
1. A tail, or anything projecting like a tail.
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2. The handle, or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle.
[Prov. Eng.]
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3. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel
bucket.
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4. (Mining) The arm, or lever, of a gin, drawn around by a
horse.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
START \START\ (st[aum]rt), n. [From Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty.]
A Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union which
provided for stepwise reductions in the number of nuclear
weapons possessed by each country.
[PJC]