beginning - the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war"

adrenarche - the increase in activity of the adrenal glands just before puberty

menarche - the first occurrence of menstruation in a woman

thelarche - the start of breast development in a woman at the beginning of puberty

oncoming, onset - the beginning or early stages; "the onset of pneumonia"

dawn, morning - the earliest period; "the dawn of civilization"; "the morning of the world"

flying start, running start - a quick and auspicious beginning

opener - the first event in a series; "she played Chopin for her opener"; "the season's opener was a game agains the Yankees"

alpha - the beginning of a series or sequence; "the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end"--Revelations

curtain raising, opening night, opening - the first performance (as of a theatrical production); "the opening received good critical reviews"

start-off, send-off, kickoff - a start given to contestants; "I was there with my parents at the kickoff"

racing start - the start of a race

birth - the time when something begins (especially life); "they divorced after the birth of the child"; "his election signaled the birth of a new age"

incipience, incipiency - beginning to exist or to be apparent; "he placed the incipience of democratic faith at around 1850"; "it is designed to arrest monopolies in their incipiency"

point in time, point - an instant of time; "at that point I had to leave"

starting point, terminus a quo - earliest limiting point

threshold - the starting point for a new state or experience; "on the threshold of manhood"

turn, play - the activity of doing something in an agreed succession; "it is my turn"; "it is still my play"

inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, unconditioned reflex - an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus

startle reaction, startle response - a complicated involuntary reaction to a sudden unexpected stimulus (especially a loud noise); involves flexion of most skeletal muscles and a variety of visceral reactions

Moro reflex, startle reflex - a normal reflex of young infants; a sudden loud noise causes the child to stretch out the arms and flex the legs

flinch, wince - a reflex response to sudden pain

change of state - the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics

jumping-off point, point of departure, springboard - a beginning from which an enterprise is launched; "he uses other people's ideas as a springboard for his own"; "reality provides the jumping-off point for his illusions"; "the point of departure of international comparison cannot be an institution but must be the function it carries out"

activation - making active and effective (as a bomb)

tone-beginning, attack - a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase

establishment, constitution, organization, formation, organisation - the act of forming something; "the constitution of a PTA group last year"; "it was the establishment of his reputation"; "he still remembers the organization of the club"

Creation - (theology) God's act of bringing the universe into existence

first appearance, debut, entry, introduction, launching, unveiling - the act of beginning something new; "they looked forward to the debut of their new product line"

face-off - (ice hockey) the method of starting play; a referee drops the puck between two opposing players

first step, opening move, initiative, opening - the first of a series of actions; "he memorized all the important chess openings"

groundbreaking, groundbreaking ceremony - the ceremonial breaking of the ground to formally begin a construction project

housing start - the act of starting to construct a house

icebreaker - a beginning that relaxes a tense or formal atmosphere; "he told jokes as an icebreaker"

inauguration, startup - the act of starting a new operation or practice; "he opposed the inauguration of fluoridation"; "the startup of the new factory was delayed by strikes"

founding, instauration, origination, initiation, innovation, creation, institution, introduction, foundation - the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"; "he regards the fork as a modern introduction"

installation, installing, instalment, installment - the act of installing something (as equipment); "the telephone installation took only a few minutes"

jump ball - (basketball) the way play begins or resumes when possession is disputed; an official tosses the ball up between two players who jump in an effort to tap it to a teammate

kickoff - (football) a kick from the center of the field to start a football game or to resume it after a score

recommencement, resumption - beginning again

scrum, scrummage - (rugby) the method of beginning play in which the forwards of each team crouch side by side with locked arms; play starts when the ball thrown in between them and the two sides compete for possession

startup - the act of setting in operation; "repeated shutdowns and startups are expensive"

line - in games or sports; a mark indicating positions or bounds of the playing area

signal, signaling, sign - any communication that encodes a message; "signals from the boat suddenly stopped"

advantage, vantage - the quality of having a superior or more favorable position; "the experience gave him the advantage over me"

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"

go forth, leave, go away - go away from a place; "At what time does your train leave?"; "She didn't leave until midnight"; "The ship leaves at midnight"

lift off, take off - depart from the ground; "The plane took off two hours late"

roar off - leave; "The car roared off into the fog"

blaze out, blaze - move rapidly and as if blazing; "The spaceship blazed out into space"

sally forth, sally out - set out in a sudden, energetic or violent manner

break out, erupt - start abruptly; "After 1989, peace broke out in the former East Bloc"

bud - start to grow or develop; "a budding friendship"

break out - begin suddenly and sometimes violently; "He broke out shouting"

begin, start - 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 work-out"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"

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"

kick in, set in - enter a particular state; "Laziness set in"; "After a few moments, the effects of the drug kicked in"

dawn - appear or develop; "The age of computers had dawned"

originate - begin a trip at a certain point, as of a plane, train, bus, etc.; "The flight originates in Calcutta"

lead up, initiate - prepare the way for; "Hitler's attack on Poland led up to World War Two"

create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor"

set - apply or start; "set fire to a building"

date back, date from, go back - belong to an earlier time; "This story dates back 200 years"

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"

move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"

shy - start suddenly, as from fight

boggle - startle with amazement or fear

rear back - start with anger or resentment or in protest

hot-wire - start (a car engine) without a key by short-circuiting the ignition system; "The woman who lost the car keys had to hot-wire her van"

restart - start an engine again, for example

crank up, crank - start by cranking; "crank up the engine"

jump-start, jumpstart, jump - start a car engine whose battery by connecting it to another car's battery

come on, go on, come up - start running, functioning, or operating; "the lights went on"; "the computer came up"

get off the ground, take off - get started or set in motion, used figuratively; "the project took a long time to get off the ground"

take office - assume an office, duty, or title; "When will the new President take office?"

athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition

play - participate in games or sport; "We played hockey all afternoon"; "play cards"; "Pele played for the Brazilian teams in many important matches"

begin, start - 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"

be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"

begin, start - 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"

begin - 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 ceremoney officially begins the semester"

act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

begin, start - 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 work-out"; "The semester begins with a convocation ceremony"