commence

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verb com·mence \ kə-ˈmen(t)s \

Definition of commence

commenced; commencing

transitive verb

:to enter upon :begin

commence proceedings

intransitive verb

1 :to have or make a beginning :start

2 chiefly British :to take a degree at a university

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commencer

noun

See commence defined for English-language learners

See commence defined for kids

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

The club will commence a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Jorge Bonifacio, Cheslor Cuthbert lead way in Royals’ 7-4 victory over Indians," 20 Aug. 2017
In addition, regarding the 31 states (plus D.C.) that expanded their Medicaid programs under Obamacare, the BCRA would have kept the current funding for three years and then commenced a phase-down for the next three.

— sally pipes, National Review, "Yes, We Should Block-Grant Medicaid," 28 July 2017
This fall, when the river drops to winter flow, the completion of Phase II will commence with the construction of three new features below the current facility.

— joe carberry, idahostatesman, "Two ‘obsessed’ Boise River users create the whitewater waves you play in," 17 July 2017
Investors will be looking for validation of a working assumption that the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will commence balance-sheet roll-off in September and wait for December to hike rates.

— jeanna smialek, Bloomberg.com, "Fed Minutes May Give Clues on When Balance-Sheet Runoff to Start," 4 July 2017
In a statement on state television, the army said the ceasefire commenced at midday on Sunday and would continue until midnight on Thursday.

— aria bendix, The Atlantic, "Syrian Army Declares Brief Truce Ahead of Peace Talks," 3 July 2017
The two anchors had intended on taking the day off in order to commence the July Fourth holiday a little early, but all planning had been thrown out the window some 24 hours earlier.

— emily jane fox, The Hive, "Exclusive: Mika Speaks! A Day After Trump’s Horrific Tweet, Brzezinski Reveals How It All Went Down," 30 June 2017
Another small-screen party commenced at Refinery Rooftop, where Keegan-Michael Key and Cobie Smulders toasted the premiere of their new Netflix show, Friends from College.

— sarah nechamkin, The Cut, "Gal Gadot and Drake Bell Partied This Week," 30 June 2017
But since the administration’s ban is temporary — lasting only 90 days for visitors, and 120 for refugees — Trump will be able to implement his plan before that legal fight commences.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "A Limited Version of Trump’s Travel Ban Will Take Effect Thursday," 28 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of commence

Middle English comencen, from Anglo-French comencer, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare, from Latin com- + Late Latin initiare to begin, from Latin, to initiate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

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)

Antonyms

conclude, end, finish, terminate

Related Words

create, generate, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, invent, originate; adopt, embrace, take on, take up; establish, father, found, institute, organize, pioneer, set up, spawn; get around (to), get down (to), get round (to)

Near Antonyms

cease, desist, discontinue, halt, knock off, lay off, quit, stop; close, complete; abandon, forsake, leave; abolish, demolish, destroy, exterminate, extinguish, phase out

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.