Definition of commence
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: to have or make a beginning : start
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Examples of commence in a Sentence
- Dear God, I thought, I've been infected by an earworm. My friend the Longhair says that's what you call songs that burrow into your head and commence chewing your brains. —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Apr./1 May 2009
- He thereupon commenced giving me this fantastically boring lecture about how the only reason I want a stuffed chicken is because they look so good in a shop window, and that the moment I received one I'd start dreaming up ways to ditch it. —Douglas Coupland, Generation X, 1991
- The policy would commence not only with the limiting of permits for the building of hotels and boats but with supervision—through expert architectural advice—of the construction of these boats and hotels … —William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (1953) 1982
- "Why shoot, I thought you wanted to be a lawyer, you've already commenced going to court." The ladies laughed again. —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
- I have commenced two letters to send you before this, both of which displeased me before I got half done, and so I tore them up. —Abraham Lincoln, letter, 4 May 1837
The festivities will commence with a parade.
Their contract commences in January.
The court commenced criminal proceedings.
The country has commenced preparations for war.
Recent Examples of commence from the Web
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Luciano, an 18-year-old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, will go to rookie-level Burlington when the season commences.
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Latest: The host of robberies, rapes, and murders netted Goudeau nine death sentences, grossing more than 1,600 years in prison, and commencing the countdown on death row’s retribution list.
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The group competed with three other projects and was ultimately awarded the grant, commencing their final plans.
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But as soon as the show commenced, Jackson made a swift and unexpected exit.
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When the green flew again, Hunter-Reay led Castroneves with Andretti present mainly as an observer and perhaps Indy’s greatest mini-shootout commenced.
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On the morning of Friday, May 11, a 14-year-old boy arrived at his former high school in Palmdale, California, just before first-period classes commenced, and began shooting a semiautomatic rifle, striking a 15-year-old boy in the arm.
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Before the battle commenced, Cavaliere agreed to allow the winning team to transform his white hair blue.
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The Senate passed a non-binding authorization of force on March 23, 1999, after which the bombing immediately commenced – before the House had a chance to vote on it.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
commence Synonyms
Synonyms
begin, embark (on or upon), enter (into or upon), fall (to), get off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, start, strike (into);
Near Antonyms
cease, desist, discontinue, halt, knock off, lay off, quit, stop;
abolish, demolish, destroy, exterminate, extinguish, phase out;
Related Words
create, generate, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, invent, originate;
adopt, embrace, take on, take up;
establish, father, found, institute, organize, pioneer, set up, spawn;
Phrases
get going, get to, set about;
Synonym Discussion of commence
begin, commence, start, initiate, inaugurate, usher in mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation. begin, start, and commence are often interchangeable. begin, opposed to end, is the most general.
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- begin a trip
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- began dancing
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- the work started slowly
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- commence firing
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- commenced a conversation
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- initiated diplomatic contacts
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- the discovery of penicillin inaugurated a new era in medicine
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- ushered in a period of economic decline
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