6 → see also start-up
7 VERB If you start an engine, car, or machine, or if it starts , it begins to work. □ [V n] He started the car, which hummed smoothly. □ [V ] We were just passing one of the parking bays when a car's engine started. ● PHRASAL VERB Start up means the same as start . □ [V P n] He waited until they went inside the building before starting up the car and driving off. □ [V n P ] Put the key in the ignition and turn it to start the car up. □ [V P ] The engine of the seaplane started up.
8 VERB If you start , your body suddenly moves slightly as a result of surprise or fear. □ [V ] She put the bottle on the table, banging it down hard. He started at the sound. ● N‑COUNT [usu sing] Start is also a noun. □ Sylvia woke with a start. □ He gave a start of surprise and astonishment.
9 → see also head start , false start
10 PHRASE You use for a start or to start with to introduce the first of a number of things or reasons that you want to mention or could mention. □ You must get her name and address, and that can be a problem for a start.
11 PHRASE If you get off to a good start , you are successful in the early stages of doing something. If you get off to a bad start , you are not successful in the early stages of doing something. □ The new Prime Minister has got off to a good start, but he still has to demonstrate what manner of leader he is going to be.
12 PHRASE To start with means at the very first stage of an event or process. □ To start with, the pressure on her was very heavy, but it's eased off a bit now.
13 in fits and starts → see fit ➌
14 to get off to a flying start → see flying
▸ start off
1 PHRASAL VERB If you start off by doing something, you do it as the first part of an activity. □ [V P + by ] She started off by accusing him of blackmail but he more or less ignored her. □ [V P v-ing] He started off playing piano background music for silent films.
2 PHRASAL VERB To start someone off means to cause them to begin doing something. □ [V n P ] Her mother started her off acting in children's theatre.
3 PHRASAL VERB To start something off means to cause it to begin. □ [V n P ] Best results are obtained by starting the plants off in a warm greenhouse.
4 → see start 4
▸ start on PHRASAL VERB If you start on something that needs to be done, you start dealing with it. □ [V P n] No need for you to start on the washing-up yet.
▸ start out
1 PHRASAL VERB If someone or something starts out as a particular thing, they are that thing at the beginning although they change later. □ [V P + as ] Daly was a fast-talking Irish-American who had started out as a salesman. □ [V P + as ] What started out as fun quickly became hard work. [Also V P n as n]
2 PHRASAL VERB If you start out by doing something, you do it at the beginning of an activity. □ [V P + by ] We started out by looking at ways in which big projects could be financed by the private sector.
▸ start over PHRASAL VERB If you start over or start something over , you begin something again from the beginning. [mainly AM ] □ [V P ] …moving the kids to some other schools, closing them down and starting over with a new staff. □ [V n P ] It's just not enough money to start life over. in BRIT, use start again
▸ start up → see start 5 , start 6 SYNONYMS start VERB 1
begin: He stood up and began to move around the room.
proceed: He proceeded to tell me of my birth.
embark on: He's embarking on a new career as a writer.
launch: The police have launched an investigation into the incident.
start|er /stɑː r tə r / (starters )
1 N‑COUNT A starter is a small quantity of food that is served as the first course of a meal. [mainly BRIT ] in AM, use appetizer 2 N‑COUNT The starter of a car is the device that starts the engine.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The starters in a race are the people or animals who take part at the beginning even if they do not finish. □ Of the 10 starters, four were eliminated or retired.
sta rt|er home (starter homes ) N‑COUNT A starter home is a small, new house or flat which is cheap enough for people who are buying their first home to afford.
sta rt|ing block (starting blocks ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Starting blocks are blocks which runners put their feet against to help them move quickly forward at the start of a race.
sta rt|ing point (starting points ) also starting-point
1 N‑COUNT Something that is a starting point for a discussion or process can be used to begin it or act as a basis for it. □ [+ for ] These proposals represent a realistic starting point for negotiation.
2 N‑COUNT When you make a journey, your starting point is the place from which you start. □ They had already walked a couple of miles or more from their starting point.
star|tle /stɑː r t ə l/ (startles , startling , startled ) VERB If something sudden and unexpected startles you, it surprises and frightens you slightly. □ [V n] The telephone startled him. □ [V n] The news will startle the City. ● star|tled ADJ □ Martha gave her a startled look.