recommence - beging again; "we recommenced his reading after a short nap"

strike out - set out on a course of action; "He struck out on his own"

fall - begin vigorously; "The prisoners fell to work right away"

jump off - set off quickly, usually with success; "The freshman set off to a good start in his math class"

get to - arrive at the point of; "She gets to fretting if I stay away form home too long"

auspicate - commence in a manner calculated to bring good luck; "They auspicated the trip with a bottle of champagne"

attack - set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task; "I attacked the problem as soon as I got out of bed"

break in - start in a certain activity, enterprise, or role

launch, plunge - begin with vigor; "He launched into a long diatribe"; "She plunged into a dangerous adventure"

come on - become available; "water or electricity came on again after the earthquake"

embark, enter - set out on (an enterprise, subject of study, etc.); "she embarked upon a new career"

get moving, get rolling, get started, get weaving, bestir oneself, get cracking, get going - start to be active; "Get cracking, please!"

begin - begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language; "She began Russian at an early age"; "We started French in fourth grade"

jump-start, jumpstart - start or re-start vigorously; "The Secretary of State intends to jumpstart the Middle East Peace Process"

recommence - cause to start anew; "The Taliban recommenced hostilities after a few days of quiet"

usher in, inaugurate, introduce - be a precursor of; "The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in the post-Cold War period"

set off - set in motion or cause to begin; "The guide set the tour off to a good start"

embark on, start up, commence, start - 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"

begin - have a beginning, of a temporal event; "WWII began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland"; "The company's Asia tour begins next month"

commence, lead off, start, begin - 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"

inaugurate, kick off - commence officially

open - begin or set in action, of meetings, speeches, recitals, etc.; "He opened the meeting with a long speech"