From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe a startbe a startspoken used to say that something you have achieved may not be impressive, but it will help with a bigger achievement One exercise class a week isn’t enough, but it’s a start. → start
Examples from the Corpus
be a start• Antonio is a starting point guard for Bowling Green State University.• But weeks had passed, and the results from the new approach were starting to kick in.• All you have to do is start up your Web browser.• A lot younger than Rex, and I was starting to feel it.• By the time John parked in Sloane Crescent the sun had vanished behind lowering cloud, and it was starting to rain.• The shop was started by the Neal brothers back in the 1870s.• If possible, an annual programme of calf vaccination should be started.• By the end of 1942, the great year of success for the Axis, things were starting to change dramatically. 