began

verb

past tense of begin
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence the storm began late in the day and lasted all night

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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

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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 Since Starmer's political crisis began brewing in early May, the pound has fallen nearly 3% cumulative against the dollar. — CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026 Without a clear message from Warsh, investors began to doubt the Fed’s inflation-fighting resolve. — Brian Cheung, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2026 The Syrian civil war that began during that period eventually saw the demise of the Assad regime – Hafez’s son Bashar had continued his father’s hard-line legacy after coming to power in 2000. — Jason M. Blazakis, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 The airport had forecast close to 100 million passengers for 2026 before the US-Iran war began. — semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026 During the arrest, Guerrero-Chavez began resisting, even slipping out of her handcuffs and attempting to run back to her vehicle, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said. — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026 Controversial from the start The study is the latest iteration of one that began after Hurricane Irma struck in 2017. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026 According to a new study published in Geology, the massive escarpment formed around 800 million to 750 million years ago as the ancient supercontinent Rodinia began to break apart. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026 The train began blocking the crossing on Tuesday morning, forcing drivers to find alternate routes. — Terell Bailey, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for began
  1. commenced
  2. started
  3. founded
  4. opened
  5. originated
  6. established
  7. launched
  8. arose
Verb
  • The game commenced with four unanswered scores from Jenks and sloppy play from Southlake Carroll that included a handful of early penalties, messy substitutions and a lack of rhythm.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Cloud service agreements totaled $29 billion, with data center leases not commenced of $25 billion, equity investments of $25 billion, and capital expenditures of $8 billion.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of commenced
Verb
  • The nature of college football is that star players can emerge from relative anonymity, which makes predicting who will be the biggest before the season has even started a difficult endeavor.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Alternative fuel sources saving some money for districts The Council Rock School District in lower Bucks County started migrating to propane back in the 2022-23 school year.
    — Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of started
Verb
  • The company, founded in 1995, has grown through a combination of scale and acquisitions, building an operation that spans much of the food supply chain.
    — Brandon Gomez, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The province of Ontario, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.
    — Michelle L. Price, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of founded
Verb
  • Mamdani opened the news conference by expressing his condolences to the victims and their families and thanking the officers who responded.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The April indictment accused the organization of secretly funneling millions of dollars in donor funds to informants embedded in violent extremist movements, using bank accounts opened for fictitious companies.
    — Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of opened
Verb
  • Curry originated the role onstage in London and immortalized it in 1975’s Rocky Horror Picture Show.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Curry originated the iconic role in the first production of Rocky Horror staged at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of originated
Verb
  • The organization works to champion aspiring and established storytellers by providing events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation and encouraging community partnerships.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Nor have the researchers yet established the process’s industrial environmental or economic balance.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of established
Verb
  • Axios has been looking to launch in the Middle East, and last year, Semafor launched Semafor Gulf.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the tenants launched a rent strike at the beginning of the month while Levovitz still owned the building.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of launched
Verb
  • Warsh also sought to clear up some areas of confusion that arose after his remarks at a July 29 news conference.
    — Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Conditions changed with waning US involvement in the early 1970s, although here too conflict arose.
    — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of arose

Browse Nearby Words

beg
began
beget
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Cite this Entry

“Began.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/began. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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