From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_706_zbeginbe‧gin /bɪˈɡɪn/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense began /-ˈɡæn/, past participle begun /-ˈɡʌn/, present participle beginning) 1 start doing something [intransitive, transitive] to start doing something As everybody’s here, let’s begin. In the third year, students begin the study of classical Chinese. The president begins talks with the prime minister tonight.begin to do something She began to feel a sense of panic.begin doing something I began teaching in 1984.► see thesaurus at start2 start happening [intransitive, transitive] if something begins, or you begin something, it starts to happen or exist from a particular time It was the coldest winter since records began.begin at The meeting begins at 10.30 am.3 do first [intransitive] if you begin with something or begin by doing something, this is the first thing you dobegin with Shall we begin with a prayer?begin by doing something I’ll begin by thanking you all for being here tonight.4 book/word etc [intransitive] if a book, film, or word begins with something, it starts with a particular event or letterbegin with ‘Psychosis’ begins with a P.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say start rather than begin:The movie starts at 7.45.Let’s start by introducing ourselves.Not many English names start with X.5 speech [intransitive, transitive] to start speaking ‘Ladies and gentlemen, ’ he began. ‘I am delighted to be here.’ 6 → to begin with7 → can’t begin to understand/imagine etcGrammarBegin belongs to a group of verbs where the same noun can be the subject of the verb or its object. • You can say: They began the meeting at 9. In this sentence, ‘the meeting’ is the object of begin.• You can also say: The meeting began at 9. In this sentence, ‘the meeting’ is the subject of begin. → begin (something) as something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
begin• Once the children were quiet, the teacher began.• Casting for the play will begin next week.• Several new businesses began operating during the year and are already trading profitably.• The audience suddenly began shouting and cheering.• And when he begins that breathing, he automatically feels calm and in control.• They began their holiday in Italy, and then went on to Greece.• Peter came in and began to chat me up.• More and more people are beginning to do their shopping on-line.• As the meat begins to firm from cooking, it will be less likely to stick to the grill.• "What do you mean?" she said, beginning to laugh.• I held the stare until my eyes began to water.begin to do something• Manshin Anjima stretched her arms above her head, then began to braid her sparse hair.• In therapy he began to examine carefully the reasons for his previous passivity.• You will begin to feel bewildered and lost, probably frightened, too.• Scott also began to form a few close relationships with other kids at school.• She had just about finished, when she began to make out footsteps approaching from deeper in the maze of drums.• People began to meet in their homes.• I put my foot down and the car began to move forward.• After two weeks, I began to realize that she wasn't coming back.• Only in the past two decades have educators and policy-makers begun to reexamine these assumptions seriously.begin at• The funeral service will begin at 3 p.m.begin with• The book begins with a letter from Barbara Bush.• Shall we begin with a prayer?Origin begin Old English beginnan 