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as in to jump
to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise) I started from my chair when I heard the sudden scream

Synonyms & Similar Words

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start

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noun

started

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verb (2)

past tense of start
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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of start
Verb
The project's livestream starts at 2:00 pm ET (1900 GMT) and can be viewed via the project's website or YouTube channel. Brett Tingley, Space.com, 9 Feb. 2025 The quickest is a two-mile, out-and-back hike that starts behind the park’s ranger station. Korrin Bishop, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2025
Noun
Sarah Barthel of Phantogram is glad the band got its start before short-form video apps became the de facto route to break new music. Glenn Peoples, Billboard, 7 Feb. 2025 The themes of parental love and letting go resonated with Bowers, shaping his musical direction from the very start. Tiana Denicola, Variety, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
That’s quite a feat for a team that started playing football in 1925. Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024 The cold of the night had returned, and the baby had started to shiver. Karen Zautyk, New York Daily News, 24 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for start 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for start
Noun
  • Jason Lipshutz: Unlike the star-heavy start of 2024, the beginning of 2025 has not been jammed with big new album releases — just Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, really — and Hurry Up Tomorrow took advantage of that relative silence.
    Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2025
  • At the beginning of the Feb. 10 episode, host Jesse Palmer announced that there’d be one group date and two one-on-one dates.
    Dana Rose Falcone, People.com, 11 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • In 1979, Radner gave the commencement speech—fully in character as Roseanne Roseannadanna—to the graduating class at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, part of which wound up on her comedy album Gilda Radner: Live From New York, released that same year.
    Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2025
  • In 2019, at age 99, she was honored by Winston-Salem State and walked across the stage with the graduating class during a commencement ceremony.
    Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Fortune And Forks Hosts A Dinner Celebrating Black History Month With Moët Hennesy Fortune and Forks, a social club for women of color founded by Krystal Vega and Naomi Wright has been aiming to support and empower women in their careers since its inception.
    Essence, Essence, 14 Feb. 2025
  • Since the program’s inception, DWW+ has trained over 350 filmmakers who give voice to historically underrepresented perspectives.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Beaver’s Pond Press experienced this firsthand during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Mars King, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2025
  • There is a very strict window of time in which this medicine can be given — three hours from the onset of symptoms, although there can be exceptions under specific circumstances.
    Katia Hetter, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Eyes are on an international launch in the $110M neighborhood.
    Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Musk cut ties with the company in 2018 but watched from the sidelines as OpenAI became a media darling in 2022 and 2023 following the launch of ChatGPT and then GPT-4.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near start

Cite this Entry

“Start.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/start. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

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