beginningnoun
uk/bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/us/bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/A2 [ C usually singular, U ] the first part of something or the start of something:
Notes on how to use this dictionary can be found at the beginning of the book.
She sat down and read the book straight through from beginning to end.
I enjoyed my job at/in the beginning (= when I started it), but I'm bored with it now.
[ C often plural ] the origin of something, or the place, time, or way in which something started:
The city had its beginnings in Roman times.
More examples
- We must be there by six, or else we'll miss the beginning of the film.
- The national anthems of the teams are played at the beginning of a big international football match.
- At the beginning of the book there's a quotation from Abraham Lincoln.
- Tell me what happened - start at the beginning.
- I did it all wrong, so I had to go back to the beginning and start again.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Beginnings and starts
- a baptism of/by fire idiom
- a clean sheet/slate idiom
- advent
- baptism
- clean
- commencement
- inception
- initiation
- institution
- introduction
- jumping-off point
- onset
- seed
- square
- starting time
- the outset
- the thin end of the wedge idiom
- thin
- trigger
- zero hour
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Origins and sources
Idiom(s)
the beginning of the end