{
    "term": "start",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "start",
            "heSheIt": "starts"
        },
        "pastSimple": "started",
        "pastParticiple": "started",
        "ingForm": "starting"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to begin doing or using something",
            "sensetop": "start (something)start to do somethingstart doing somethingstart on somethingstart by doing something",
            "labels": "(British English)(especially North American English)",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I **start work** at nine.",
                    "contextForm": "start (something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He's just started a new job."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The kids **start school** next week."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I only started *(= began to read)* this book yesterday."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We need to start *(= begin using)* a new jar of coffee."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's a long story. Where shall I start?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Can you start *(= a new job)* on Monday?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It started to rain.",
                    "contextForm": "start to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I was starting to feel tired."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Mistakes were starting to creep in."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started laughing.",
                    "contextForm": "start doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Suddenly **things started** happening."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's time you started on your homework.",
                    "contextForm": "start on something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Let's start by reviewing what we did last week.",
                    "contextForm": "start by doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "If you want to find out more, this website is **a good place to start**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "By early evening he was ready to start work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started work in the mill when she was just 14 years old."
                },
                {
                    "text": "When we started this project, we didn't know what to expect."
                },
                {
                    "text": "At that point I just started to hate the man."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The garden is starting to look very bare."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm starting to think I should move somewhere else."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started to wonder whether she was imagining it all."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her heart suddenly started to race."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started to get angry."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started getting angry."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The girl next to me started to talk to me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The girl next to me started talking to me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "People have started saying that they don't want to use social media any more."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Things were very different when I started working here 17 years ago."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I need to start getting ready."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's time to start thinking about next year."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Maybe you should start looking for a new job."
                },
                {
                    "text": "When did you start playing the piano?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "You'd better start packing if you're to leave early tomorrow morning."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We'll just have to start all over again."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I've finished decorating the bathroom, so now I can start on the bedroom."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He finished all his own food and started on mine."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He has just started at school."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I don't know where to start with all this work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'll have to start again from scratch."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We start by examining the evidence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Start by preparing the planting area."
                },
                {
                    "text": "If you want to learn about frogs, this book is an excellent place to start."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["suddenly", "immediately", "just"],
                "verb + start": ["decide to", "expect to", "hope to"],
                "preposition": ["as", "by", "from"],
                "phrases": [
                    "get (somebody/​something) started",
                    "a good, great, etc. place to start",
                    "let’s start"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to begin happening; to make something begin happening",
            "sensetop": "start somethingstart somebody/something doing something",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Work is due to start this weekend."
                },
                {
                    "text": "What time does the show start?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Have you any idea where the rumour started?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Who **started the fire**?",
                    "contextForm": "start something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm ready to **start the process** of writing."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Do you **start the day** with a good breakfast?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "You're always trying to start an argument."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The news started me thinking.",
                    "contextForm": "start somebody/something doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "A new term was about to start."
                },
                {
                    "text": "When does the class start?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The new season starts on Monday."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her career in the civil service started in 1998."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The fire is thought to have started in the kitchen."
                },
                {
                    "text": "After the war started, many people tried to leave."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's a great opportunity to start a new career."
                },
                {
                    "text": "These producers start their planting season a week or two earlier than normal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They started a war that wasn't justified."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Before you start the game, you choose a character to play as."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Who started the fight?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's his fault. He started it."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A campaign was started for his release."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Our goal is to start a conversation with our customers."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Birmingham Royal Ballet start the new season with an intriguing triple bill next week."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We want to start people talking about issues that matter to them in their community."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was Liz that started me listening to classical music."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["suddenly", "immediately", "just"],
                "verb + start": ["decide to", "expect to", "hope to"],
                "preposition": ["as", "by", "from"],
                "phrases": [
                    "get (somebody/​something) started",
                    "a good, great, etc. place to start",
                    "let’s start"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "when you start a machine or a vehicle or it starts, it begins to operate",
            "sensetop": "start (something)",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Start the engines!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started the recording."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I can't get the car started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The car won't start."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He walked over to his truck, got in and started the engine."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Pushing the ignition button starts the engine."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Dan started the lawn mower again."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Start the tape."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I couldn't get the car to start."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her voice was drowned out when the car started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There was a delay because the motor wouldn't start."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The blender won't start unless the lid is closed properly."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to begin to exist; to make something begin to exist",
            "sensetop": "start upstart somethingstart something up",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The company started in 1894 in Pennsylvania."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There are a lot of small businesses starting up in that area.",
                    "contextForm": "start up"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She **started a business** while she was still at school.",
                    "contextForm": "start something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I decided to start a fashion blog."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They want to **start a family** *(= to have children)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He decided to start up his own film festival.",
                    "contextForm": "start something up"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They decided to start a catering business."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started the company in the 1990s."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started a yoga class at work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Maria started a Spanish conversation class in the village hall."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I made several attempts to start my own clothing company."
                },
                {
                    "text": "If you're passionate about a hobby, why not start your own blog?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "When we started the band we never expected this."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This was a club started by music fans, for music fans."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They are offering incentives for new businesses to start up in the area."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There are a lot of costs when you're just starting up."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Some people have great ideas but start up without having a clear idea of how viable their businesses are."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started up his own chain of hotels."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We started up this website as a way for people to make contact with fellow enthusiasts."
                },
                {
                    "text": "What made you decide to start the business up?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to begin from a particular place, amount or situation; to begin in a particular way",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.+ adj.",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The trail starts just outside the town.",
                    "contextForm": "+ adv./prep."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Hotel **prices start at** €80 for a double room."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A sentence always **starts with** a capital letter."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The evening started badly when the speaker failed to turn up."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The best professional musicians **start young**.",
                    "contextForm": "+ adj."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The 109-mile bike race starts and finishes at the end of Market Street."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The river starts in northwest Arkansas."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Let's start with this first piece of music."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The walk starts from the carpark on Nimmings Lane."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He could not remember exactly where the taxi ride started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Your tour starts at the Cathedral."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Players start in the centre of the board and move outwards."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The prints are not expensive, starting at $35."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We start from the premise that every child matters."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We are starting from a difficult position because we have very little information."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I started with the idea that I wanted to write about family."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It often helps to start with a simple question."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The story starts in the mid 1960s in a small English town."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The show starts with a bang and maintains the excitement throughout."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The film starts well, but halfway through the story starts to drag."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The team started strongly but faded in the second half."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's better to start slowly and learn as you go."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She started relatively late as an artist."
                },
                {
                    "text": "James started small with $5,000 in contracts."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I start simple, with just a geometric shape."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started full of confidence, but something went wrong."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to begin, or to begin something such as a career, in a particular way that changed later",
            "sensetop": "start as somethingstart out/offstart out/off as somethingstart something (as something)start something doing something",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She started as a secretary but ended up running the department.",
                    "contextForm": "start as something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It started as a hobby and grew from there."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company started out with 30 employees.",
                    "contextForm": "start out/off"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I started off as a dishwasher making 25 cents an hour.",
                    "contextForm": "start out/off as something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He **started life** as a teacher before turning to journalism.",
                    "contextForm": "start something (as something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She **started her career** working for the BBC.",
                    "contextForm": "start something doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I started as a trainee and ended up a supervisor."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It started as a joke, but we soon realized people were taking it seriously."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The World Wide Web started as a way for scientists and academics to share information."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The film started as an experiment to see if I could do something new."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I started out washing cars at the golf club."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's probably best to start out renting equipment."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We started off with just a few product lines."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started work as a butcher's boy and now has his own shop."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I started my working life as a studio photographer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The magazine started life as a comic book in 1952."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The building started life as a prison but was converted to a luxury hotel."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "to begin a journey; to leave",
            "sensetop": "start (out)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "What time are we starting tomorrow?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She had started out late for the meeting."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They had started out from Saigon the previous day."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I should get there by the afternoon if I start early."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Make sure you've got everything before we start."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They started out at five o'clock in the morning."
                },
                {
                    "text": "What time do we start?"
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "set off, set out"
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 8,
            "definition": "to begin to move in a particular direction",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I started after her *(= began to follow her)* to tell her the news."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He started for the door, but I blocked his way."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 9,
            "definition": "to move suddenly and quickly because you are surprised or afraid",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The sudden noise made her start."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "jump",
            "topics": ["Feelings"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to tell somebody not to complain or be critical",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Don't start! I told you I'd be late."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Don't you start! It's hard enough managing the kids, without you complaining too."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to make something start happening; to make sure that something continues to happen",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to start a relationship well/badly",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I seem to have got off on the wrong foot with the new boss."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to begin doing something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It's nearly ten o'clock. Let's get started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's already late, so I think we should get started."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to start a relationship well/badly",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I seem to have started off on the wrong foot with the new boss."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to cause trouble",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "used when you are giving the first and most important reason for something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "To start with, it’s much too expensive…"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Opinion and argument"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "at the beginning",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The club had only six members to start with."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'll have melon to start with."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She wasn't keen on the idea to start with."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to blame somebody for beginning a fight or an argument",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "‘Stop fighting, you two!’ ‘He started it!’"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Opinion and argument"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/stɑːt/",
                "audio": "st/start/start__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/stɑːts/",
                "audio": "st/start/starts__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈstɑːtɪd/",
                "audio": "st/start/started__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈstɑːtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "st/start/starting__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/stɑːrt/",
                "audio": "st/start/start__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/stɑːrts/",
                "audio": "st/start/starts__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈstɑːrtɪd/",
                "audio": "st/start/started__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈstɑːrtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "st/start/starting__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English styrtan ‘to caper, leap’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch storten ‘push’ and German stürzen ‘fall headlong, fling’. From the sense ‘sudden movement’ arose the sense ‘initiation of movement, setting out on a journey’ and hence ‘beginning of a process, etc.’."
}