start

v

1. depart, start out, set off, embark; Inf. take off, Inf. jump off, Inf. kick off, Inf. blast off, become airborne; Inf. hit the trail or road or pavement, sally forth, push off, set sail.

2. commence, begin, go ahead, go ahead with, undertake; turn to, Inf. buckle down, get going on [s.t.] set about doing [s.t.] take steps toward, start in on; plunge in, Inf. pitch in, Inf. roll up one's sleeves; Inf. dive in, Inf. dive in headfirst, Inf. get one's feet wet, Inf. get down to business, Inf. get down to it, Inf. get to it, Inf. get around to it; Inf. buckle down, Inf. put one's hand to the plow, Inf. put one's shoulder to the wheel, Inf. get the show on the road, Inf. get off the dime, Sl. get off one's duff.

3. appear, emerge, rise, rise up, dawn, be created, come into existence, come to be, have birth, be born, first see the light of day; be developed, be invented, come into being; issue forth, come forth, burst forth, break out; spring out, spring forth, loom up; sprout, mushroom, pop up, crop out, crop up; come into view, enter the picture, come into play, become a factor; issue, gush, rush, stream, spurt, shoot, jet, squirt, well, well out.

4. spring, dart, move; jump out, leap out, bound out, leap out from cover; jerk, twitch, blink, shy, draw back, recoil; quail, cower, blench, flinch, wince, shrink; lurch, bounce, convulse, be shaken, be taken aback, be frightened, Inf. jump out of one's skin.

5. protrude, project, extrude, jut or jut out, stick out, poke out; extend, excurve, obtrude, bulge, pro-tuberate, Anat. protract; swell out, swell, (all usu. in reference to the eyes) dilate, pop, goggle, open wide, Inf. bug, Inf. bug out, stare, nearly start from their sockets.

6. slip, slip out, come loose, come unloosed, work loose; become disengaged, come unnailed or unscrewed, work out; come unhinged, become unseated; divide, separate, drop off or out.

7. begin the race or contest, be among the contestants, be a contender, be entered; enter the lists, join in, compete, be part of the field, Sl. make the scene.

8. set moving, set into motion, propel, give impulse to, activate, (of engines) turn over, crank up, Inf. gear up; propel, launch, push forward, push; poke, prod, goad, shove, Inf. wind up; encourage, back, second, Inf. get behind, prompt, urge, promote, aid; endorse, sponsor, finance, subsidize, set up, befriend, patronize.

9. establish, found, insitute, actuate, implement, instigate, set in motion; intiate, Inf. start the ball rolling, take the first step, take the initiative, take the plunge, make a start, break the ice; open, pioneer, lead off; inaugurate, set up, organize, originate; break ground, lay the foundation, lay the cornerstone; introduce, broach, usher in; create, beget, engender, father, conceive, give birth to.

n

10. beginning, outset, onset, commencement; outbreak, dawn, conception, birth, genesis, exordium, Inf. kickoff, Inf. takeoff, Inf. blast-off, Inf. getaway; leaving, exodus, sailing, departure.

11. rise, arising, beginnings, emergence, incipience, nascence, infancy, creation, inception; origin, source, first cause; starting line or point, square one; foundation, fountainhead, wellspring, spring, mainspring.

12. impulse, signal, Inf. send-off, Inf. starting gun; initiation, actuation, institution; introduction, establishment, origination, organization, founding, foundation.

13. jerk, twitch, jump, leap, bound, vault; startle, surprise, jar, jolt, Inf. turn.

14. head start, lead, advantage, advance, odds, Inf. good break; superiority, precedence, antecedence, Inf. jump, Inf. edge, Inf. drop or draw, Inf. inside track, Inf. good post position; upper hand, whip hand.

15. chance, opportunity, opening, Inf. break; support, financing, backing, introductions, sponsorship; interest, encouragement, patronage, guidance; favor, aid, assistance.