begin

/bI'gIn/ past tense began begun /'gVn/ verb (I, T)

1 START DOING/FEELING to start doing something or start feeling a particular way: begin to do sth: We began to wonder if the train would ever arrive. | begin: I'll begin when you're ready. | begin sth: She curled up in bed and began her book. | begin doing sth: I left teaching in 1990 and began working in my present job. | begin by doing sth (=do or say something as the first part of an activity): Can I begin by thanking you all for being here tonight?

2 START HAPPENING (I, T) if something begins, or you begin something, it starts to happen or exist: Work on the new bridge will begin next year. | It was the coldest winter since records began.

(+ at): The meeting begins at 10.30 am. | begin (sth) as: Roger began his career as a model.

3 to begin with

a) especially spoken used to introduce the first or most important point that you want to make: Well, to begin with, he shouldn't even have been driving my car.

b) used to say that something was already in a particular condition before something else happened: I didn't break it! It was like that to begin with.

c) during the first part of a process or activity: The kids helped me to begin with, but they soon got bored.

-see firstly

4 SPEECH/BOOK (I) if a speech, book, word etc begins with something, it starts with a particular event, activity, letter etc

(+ with): `Psychosis' begins with a P.

5 can't begin to understand/imagine etc spoken used to emphasize how difficult something is to understand etc: I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be to lose your child.