1
as in commenced
to take the first step in (a process or course of action)
she began walking to work for exercise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence
the storm began late in the day and lasted all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in founded
to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of
the religious sect was begun by a small breakaway faction
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of began
Sunday’s border battle at Wisconsin began in an inauspicious manner for the Minnesota women’s basketball team.
—
Staff Report, Twin Cities, 16 Feb. 2026
Just hours after bombs began raining down on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, two FBI agents arrived unannounced at Nikki Nojima Louis’ home in Seattle’s Japantown.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Avoid paper checks for your tax refund Last September, the IRS began phasing out paper tax refund checks.
—Adriana Morga, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Miami Heat second-year forward Keshad Johnson’s week began with a two-game stint in the G League.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
The Seahawks’ victory completed a season that began with an NFC West loss to the 49ers at Lumen Field.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
This wasn’t the rewrite of a horror story that began more than a decade ago.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
The show began with Bad Bunny peering through some tall grass as if in a sugar cane field in Puerto Rico.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2026
The Post began to bleed talent while its competitors siphoned off its subscribers, at times directly appealing to Post readers.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Staff Report, Twin Cities, 16 Feb. 2026
Just hours after bombs began raining down on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, two FBI agents arrived unannounced at Nikki Nojima Louis’ home in Seattle’s Japantown.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Avoid paper checks for your tax refund Last September, the IRS began phasing out paper tax refund checks.
—Adriana Morga, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Miami Heat second-year forward Keshad Johnson’s week began with a two-game stint in the G League.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
The Seahawks’ victory completed a season that began with an NFC West loss to the 49ers at Lumen Field.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
This wasn’t the rewrite of a horror story that began more than a decade ago.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
The show began with Bad Bunny peering through some tall grass as if in a sugar cane field in Puerto Rico.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2026
The Post began to bleed talent while its competitors siphoned off its subscribers, at times directly appealing to Post readers.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for began
Verb
-
TikTok and Snap settled with a plaintiff involved in the case before the trial commenced.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Bad Bunny commenced his historic performance with a stage set evoking Puerto Rican history, beginning with the brutal legacy of Spanish imperialism on the island.—
Raquel Reichard,
Refinery29,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Carolyn Hax started her Washington Post advice column in 1997, after five years on the Style desk and none as a therapist.—
Carolyn Hax,
Washington Post,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Minnesota started slow and trailed the host Badgers 18-8 late in the first quarter.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Andrew has left the Order of the Garter, which was founded by Edward III, in 1348, and had his banner removed from the chapel at Windsor Castle.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Pietro Loro Piana founded the company as a wool mill in 1924 in the country’s Quarona.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The company originates from a small tea shop in Taiwan opened in 1996 by a man named Zhen-hua Wu.—
Ernestine Siu,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Koda Holeman opened the match by defeating Jeremiah Reno by technical fall 17-2.—
Michael Harley,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Lexi Minetree stars in the role originated by Reese Witherspoon.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
This story originated as part of Deadline’s new Comedy Means Business newsletter.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Loro Piana in 1997 established the annual Record Bale Award, driving his and the brand’s quest for increasingly finer merino wool fibers every year.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
In their place Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner have established themselves as the kings of the court, and the rest of the world consistently isn’t in their sphere.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Named Issac 0, the company launched the autonomous robot as a prequel to their upcoming robot Issac, which will be released later this year.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The company has already cut its teeth off-Earth with Haven Demo, a 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) pathfinder spacecraft that launched to LEO this past November to demonstrate key Haven technologies.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The following year, a controversy arose after the couple was sued by a neighboring couple for installing a solid cedar fence that blocked the neighbors’ views of Lake Michigan.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
At one point, a mysterious conflict arose between two women who were both sitting alone, a row apart.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Began.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/began. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
