commence
verb
com·mence
kə-ˈmen(t)s 
commenced; commencing
: to enter upon : begin
commence proceedings
commencer
noun
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.
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 on the Web
Around the same time, the company commenced an aggressive play for the college sports insurance market, introducing a novel contract protection product for NIL collectives while also trying to get into the critical injury coverage niche.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Production on the second season of Nobody Wants This commenced in March 2025.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Onsite sales commenced Saturday during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which is held on the course the week before professional men’s golf’s first major.
—Larry Holder, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The fallout from President Donald Trump’s Wednesday reciprocal tariffs announcement has commenced.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commence
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Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Production on the second season of Nobody Wants This commenced in March 2025.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Onsite sales commenced Saturday during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which is held on the course the week before professional men’s golf’s first major.
—Larry Holder, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The fallout from President Donald Trump’s Wednesday reciprocal tariffs announcement has commenced.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commence
Cite this Entry
“Commence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commence. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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Etymology
Middle English comencen "to begin," from early French comencer (same meaning), probably from a Latin word cominitiare "to begin," from com- "with, together" and initiare "to begin" — related to initiate
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