'Commence' definitions:

Definition of 'commence'

(from WordNet)
verb
Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "We began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's get down to work now" [syn: get down, begin, get, start out, start, set about, set out, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
verb
Set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life" [syn: begin, lead off, start, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
verb
Get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: start, start up, embark on, commence]

Definition of 'Commence'

From: GCIDE
  • Commence \Com*mence"\, v. t. To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of. [1913 Webster]
  • Many a wooer doth commence his suit. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced to study. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Commence'

From: GCIDE
  • Commence \Com*mence"\ (k[o^]m*m[e^]ns"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Commenced (k[o^]m*m[e^]nst"); p. pr. & vb. n. Commencing.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]
  • 1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin. [1913 Webster]
  • Here the anthem doth commence. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • His heaven commences ere the world be past. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]
  • We commence judges ourselves. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.] [1913 Webster]
  • I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'commence'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Commence'