start
verbVerb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they start | |
| he / she / it starts | |
| past simple started | |
| past participle started | |
| -ing form starting |
- [transitive, intransitive]
to begin doing or using something 开始，着手，动手（做或使用） - start (something)
I start work at nine. 我每天九点开始工作。 He's just started a new job. 他刚刚着手一项新工作。 The kids start school next week. 孩子们下星期开学。 I only started (= began to read) this book yesterday. 我昨天才开始看这本书。 We need to start (= begin using) a new jar of coffee. 我们得新开一罐咖啡了。 It's a long story. Where shall I start? 说来话长。我该从哪儿说起呢？ Can you start (= a new job) on Monday? 你可以星期一就来上班吗？ - start to do something
It started to rain. 下起雨来了。 I was starting to feel tired. 我开始觉得累了。 Mistakes were starting to creep in. 不知不觉间，开始出错了。 - start doing something
She started laughing. 她笑了起来。 Suddenly things started happening. 突然事情开始发生了。 - start on something
It's time you started on your homework. 你该做功课了。 - start by doing something
Let's start by reviewing what we did last week. 我们开始先来复习一下上星期学的内容。 If you want to find out more, this website is a good place to start. 如果你想了解更多，这个网站是一个很好的起点。
Express Yourself Conversation openersConversation openers 打开话题 What can you say when you have to speak to someone for the first time or when you have to open a meeting? Here are some possible ways of starting a conversation or getting the audience's attention before a talk or speech: 与人初次交谈时打开话题，会议开始要讲话，或者演讲之前引起听众注意，可用以下方式： Do you mind if I sit here? 我坐在这儿可以吗？
Hello, is this seat taken? 你好，这个座位有人吗？
May I join you? Can I get you a coffee? 可以和你一起吗？我给你拿杯咖啡好吗？
Lovely weather we’re having!/Can you believe this rain/wind/cold/sunshine? 多好的天气呀！／真想不到会下这么大雨／刮这么大风／这么冷／阳光这么灿烂！
Excuse me, could I ask you a question? 打扰一下，可以问您一个问题吗？
Shall we make a start? I think it's almost three o'clock. 我们马上开始好吗？我看都快三点了。
Shall we get started? I'd like to introduce our speaker. 我们开始吧？我来介绍一下演讲人。
I think everyone's here, so I'd like to welcome you to this conference. 我想大家都到齐了，在此我对出席本次会议的各位表示欢迎。
Which Word? begin / startbegin / start- There is not much difference in meaning between begin and start, though start is more common in spoken English:
begin 和 start 的含义差别不大，不过 start 较常用于口语： What time does the concert start/begin? 音乐会什么时候开场？ She started/began working here three months ago. 她三个月前开始在这儿工作。
begin 常用以指一系列事情的开始： The story begins on the island of Corfu. 故事从科孚岛开始。
start 亦含出发、使发生、使（机器）运转之义，begin 不含此义： We’ll need to start at 7.00. 我们需要在 7 点钟出发。 Who do you think started the fire? 你看是谁点的火？ The car won’t start. 汽车发动不起来。
- You can use either an infinitive or a form with -ing after begin and start, with no difference in meaning:
begin 和 start 之后接动词不定式或 -ing 形式均可，在意义上无差别： I didn’t start worrying/to worry until she was 2 hours late. 她晚了两小时还没到，我才开始担忧起来。
- After the forms beginning and starting, the -ing form of the verb is not normally used:
beginning 和 starting 之后一般不用动词的 -ing 形式： It’s starting/beginning to rain. 开始下雨了。 - It’s starting/beginning raining.
Extra ExamplesBy early evening he was ready to start work. 到傍晚时，他准备开始工作了。 She started work in the mill when she was just 14 years old. 她14岁时就开始在工厂工作。 When we started this project, we didn't know what to expect. 当我们开始这个项目时，我们不知道会发生什么。 At that point I just started to hate the man. 从那一刻起我开始恨那个男人。 The garden is starting to look very bare. 花园开始显得非常光秃秃的。 I'm starting to think I should move somewhere else. 我开始觉得我应该搬到别的地方去。 She started to wonder whether she was imagining it all. 她开始怀疑这一切是不是她想象出来的。 Her heart suddenly started to race. 她的心突然开始狂跳起来。 He started to get angry. 他开始生气。 He started getting angry. 他开始生气。 The girl next to me started to talk to me. 我旁边的女孩开始和我说话。 The girl next to me started talking to me. 我旁边的女孩开始和我说话。 People have started saying that they don't want to use social media any more. 人们开始说他们不想再使用社交媒体了。 Things were very different when I started working here 17 years ago. 当我17年前开始在这里工作时，情况大不相同。 I need to start getting ready. 我需要开始准备了。 It's time to start thinking about next year. 该开始考虑明年的事情了。 Maybe you should start looking for a new job. 也许你应该开始找新工作。 When did you start playing the piano? 你什么时候开始弹钢琴的？ You'd better start packing if you're to leave early tomorrow morning. 你要是明天一早走的话，最好现在就开始收拾行李。 We'll just have to start all over again. 我们只好整个从头再来。 I've finished decorating the bathroom, so now I can start on the bedroom. 卫生间我已经装修完毕，现在可以开始卧室的装修了。 He finished all his own food and started on mine. 他吃完了自己的食物，开始吃我的。 He has just started at school. 他刚开始上学。 I don't know where to start with all this work. 我不知道从哪里开始做这些工作。 Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened. 从开头讲起，告诉我到底发生了什么事。 I'll have to start again from scratch. 我又得从头再来。 We start by examining the evidence. 我们从检查证据开始。 Start by preparing the planting area. 从准备种植面积开始。 If you want to learn about frogs, this book is an excellent place to start. 你如果想了解青蛙，最好先读读这本书。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- suddenly
- immediately
- just
- …
- decide to
- expect to
- hope to
- …
- as
- by
- from
- …
- get (somebody/something) started
- a good, great, etc. place to start
- let’s start
- …
- start (something)
- [intransitive, transitive]
to begin happening; to make something begin happening （使）发生，开始进行 Work is due to start this weekend. 工作预定从本周末开始。 What time does the show start? 表演什么时候开始？ Have you any idea where the rumour started? 你知不知道谣言是从哪儿传出来的？ - start something
Who started the fire? 谁放的火？ I'm ready to start the process of writing. 我准备开始写作的过程。 Do you start the day with a good breakfast? 你早晨起来会先好好吃一顿早饭吗？ You're always trying to start an argument. 你总是想挑起争论。 - start somebody/something doing something
The news started me thinking. 那条消息让我思考起来。
Synonyms startstart- begin
- start off
- kick off
- commence
- open
- start to begin to happen or exist; to begin in a particular way or from a particular point:
- begin to start to happen or exist; to start in a particular way or from a particular point; to start speaking:
When does the concert begin? 音乐会什么时候开始？
start or begin? 用 start 还是 begin？ - start off (rather informal
) to start happening or doing something; to start by doing or being something: 指进行或开展起来、首先进行、一开始是： The discussion started off mildly enough. 讨论颇为温和地开展起来。
- kick off (informal
) to start an event or activity, especially in a particular way; (of an event, activity, etc.) to start, especially in a particular way: 尤指以…开始（活动）、（活动）以…开始： Tom will kick off with a few comments. 汤姆讲话时要先发表几点意见。 The festival kicks off on Monday, September 13. 节期从 9 月 13 日星期一开始。
- commence (formal
) to start happening: 指开始发生： The meeting is scheduled to commence at noon. 会议定于午间召开。
- open to start an event or activity in a particular way; (of an event, a film or a book) to start, especially in a particular way:
The story opens with a murder. 故事以一宗谋杀案作序幕。
- to start/begin/start off/kick off/commence/open with something
- to start/begin/start off/kick off/commence/open by doing something
- to start/begin/start off/commence as something
- a campaign/season/meeting starts/begins/starts off/kicks off/commences/opens
- a film/book starts/begins/starts off/opens
Extra ExamplesA new term was about to start. 新学期就要开始了。 When does the class start? 什么时候上课？ The new season starts on Monday. 新赛季周一开始。 Her career in the civil service started in 1998. 她的公务员生涯始于1998年。 The fire is thought to have started in the kitchen. 这场火被认为是从厨房开始的。 After the war started, many people tried to leave. 战争开始后，许多人试图离开。 It's a great opportunity to start a new career. 这是开始新事业的好机会。 These producers start their planting season a week or two earlier than normal. 这些生产者比正常情况提前一两周开始种植季节。 They started a war that wasn't justified. 他们发动了一场不正当的战争。 Before you start the game, you choose a character to play as. 在你开始游戏之前，你选择一个角色来玩。 Who started the fight? 是谁挑起的争斗？ It's his fault. He started it. 是他的错。是他挑起的。 A campaign was started for his release. 一场争取释放他的运动开始了。 Our goal is to start a conversation with our customers. 我们的目标是与客户展开对话。 Birmingham Royal Ballet start the new season with an intriguing triple bill next week. 伯明翰皇家芭蕾舞团下周以一项有趣的三重法案开始新一季。 We want to start people talking about issues that matter to them in their community. 我们想让人们开始谈论他们社区中对他们来说很重要的问题。 It was Liz that started me listening to classical music. 是莉兹让我开始听古典音乐。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- suddenly
- immediately
- just
- …
- decide to
- expect to
- hope to
- …
- as
- by
- from
- …
- get (somebody/something) started
- a good, great, etc. place to start
- let’s start
- …
- [transitive, intransitive] start (something)
when you start a machine or a vehicle or it starts, it begins to operate 开动；发动；启动 Start the engines! 发动引擎！ He started the recording. 他开始录音。 I can't get the car started. 这辆车我发动不起来。 The car won't start. 这辆车发动不起来。
Extra ExamplesHe walked over to his truck, got in and started the engine. 他走向他的卡车，钻进去，启动了引擎。 Pushing the ignition button starts the engine. 按下点火按钮启动发动机。 Dan started the lawn mower again. 丹又启动了割草机。 Start the tape. 开始录像。 I couldn't get the car to start. 我无法发动汽车。 Her voice was drowned out when the car started. 汽车启动时，她的声音被淹没了。 There was a delay because the motor wouldn't start. 因为马达启动不了，所以耽搁了。 The blender won't start unless the lid is closed properly. 除非盖子关好，否则搅拌机不会启动。
- [intransitive, transitive]
to begin to exist; to make something begin to exist （使）出现；发起；创办；开办 The company started in 1894 in Pennsylvania. 该公司于1894年在宾夕法尼亚州成立。 - start up
There are a lot of small businesses starting up in that area. 小型企业在那一地区大量涌现。 - start something
She started a business while she was still at school. 她还在上学的时候就开始创业了。 I decided to start a fashion blog. 我决定开一个时尚博客。 They want to start a family (= to have children). 他们想组建一个家庭。 - start something up
He decided to start up his own film festival. 他决定创办自己的电影节。
Extra ExamplesThey decided to start a catering business. 他们决定开办一家酒席承办公司。 She started the company in the 1990s. 她在20世纪90年代创办了这家公司。 She started a yoga class at work. 她在工作时开始上瑜伽课。 Maria started a Spanish conversation class in the village hall. 玛丽亚在村礼堂开始了一堂西班牙语会话课。 I made several attempts to start my own clothing company. 我曾几次尝试创办自己的服装公司。 If you're passionate about a hobby, why not start your own blog? 如果你对一项爱好充满热情，为什么不创建自己的博客呢？ When we started the band we never expected this. 当我们组建乐队时，我们从未想到会这样。 This was a club started by music fans, for music fans. 这是一个由音乐爱好者创办的俱乐部，为音乐爱好者服务。 They are offering incentives for new businesses to start up in the area. 他们为在该地区创办新企业提供激励措施。 There are a lot of costs when you're just starting up. 刚起步的时候成本很高。 Some people have great ideas but start up without having a clear idea of how viable their businesses are. 有些人有很好的想法，但创业时并不清楚他们的企业有多可行。 He started up his own chain of hotels. 他开办了自己的连锁酒店。 We started up this website as a way for people to make contact with fellow enthusiasts. 我们建立这个网站是为了让人们与爱好者联系。 What made you decide to start the business up? 是什么让你决定创业的？
- [intransitive]
to begin from a particular place, amount or situation; to begin in a particular way （从…）开始；（由…）起 - + adv./prep.
The trail starts just outside the town. 小径从刚出城的地方开始。 Hotel prices start at €80 for a double room. 双人间的酒店价格从€80英镑起。 A sentence always starts with a capital letter. 一个句子总是以大写字母开头。 The evening started badly when the speaker failed to turn up. 那天晚上的活动一开始挺糟糕，因为演讲者没有来。 - + adj.
The best professional musicians start young. 卓有成就的音乐家很早就接触音乐。
Extra ExamplesThe 109-mile bike race starts and finishes at the end of Market Street. 109英里的自行车比赛在市场街的尽头开始和结束。 The river starts in northwest Arkansas. 这条河发源于阿肯色州西北部。 Let's start with this first piece of music. 咱们从这第一首曲子开始吧。 The walk starts from the carpark on Nimmings Lane. 步行从宁明斯巷的停车场开始。 He could not remember exactly where the taxi ride started. 他记不清打车是从哪里开始的。 Your tour starts at the Cathedral. 你的旅行从大教堂开始。 Players start in the centre of the board and move outwards. 玩家从棋盘中央开始，向外移动。 The prints are not expensive, starting at $35. 印花不贵，起价35美元。 We start from the premise that every child matters. 我们从每个孩子都重要这个前提出发。 We are starting from a difficult position because we have very little information. 我们正从一个困难的位置开始，因为我们几乎没有信息。 I started with the idea that I wanted to write about family. 我从我想写家庭的想法开始。 It often helps to start with a simple question. 从一个简单的问题开始往往会有所帮助。 The story starts in the mid 1960s in a small English town. 故事开始于20世纪60年代中期的一个英国小镇。 The show starts with a bang and maintains the excitement throughout. 这场演出以一声巨响开始，并始终保持着激动人心的气氛。 The film starts well, but halfway through the story starts to drag. 这部电影开头很好，但故事进行到一半就开始拖拖拉拉了。 The team started strongly but faded in the second half. 该队开局势头强劲，但在下半场逐渐消退。 It's better to start slowly and learn as you go. 最好慢慢开始，边走边学。 She started relatively late as an artist. 作为一名艺术家，她起步较晚。 James started small with $5,000 in contracts. 詹姆斯以5000美元的合同起家。 I start simple, with just a geometric shape. 我从简单开始，只是一个几何形状。 He started full of confidence, but something went wrong. 他开始信心满满，但是出了问题。
- + adv./prep.
- [intransitive, transitive]
to begin, or to begin something such as a career, in a particular way that changed later 以…起步（或起家）；起初是 - start as something
She started as a secretary but ended up running the department. 她起初只是一个秘书，但最后掌管起了整个部门。 It started as a hobby and grew from there. 开始时只是出于兴趣，后来便一发而不可收。 - start out/off
The company started out with 30 employees. 公司创立之初只有 30 名员工。 - start out/off as something
I started off as a dishwasher making 25 cents an hour. 我从一个每小时25美分的洗碗机起家。 - start something (as something)
He started life as a teacher before turning to journalism. 他开始当过教师，后来改行搞起了新闻。 - start something doing something
She started her career working for the BBC. 她开始了自己的职业生涯，为英国广播公司工作。
Extra ExamplesI started as a trainee and ended up a supervisor. 我开始是实习生，最后成了主管。 It started as a joke, but we soon realized people were taking it seriously. 起初只是一个玩笑，但我们很快意识到人们在认真对待它。 The World Wide Web started as a way for scientists and academics to share information. 万维网最初是科学家和学者共享信息的一种方式。 The film started as an experiment to see if I could do something new. 这部电影一开始是一个实验，看看我是否能做些新的东西。 I started out washing cars at the golf club. 我开始在高尔夫俱乐部洗车。 It's probably best to start out renting equipment. 最好从租赁设备开始。 We started off with just a few product lines. 我们一开始只有几条产品线。 He started work as a butcher's boy and now has his own shop. 他从卖肉的男孩开始工作，现在有了自己的商店。 I started my working life as a studio photographer. 我开始了工作室摄影师的职业生涯。 The magazine started life as a comic book in 1952. 这本杂志在1952年以漫画的形式开始了它的生命。 The building started life as a prison but was converted to a luxury hotel. 这座建筑最初是一座监狱，但后来被改造成了一家豪华酒店。
- start as something
- [intransitive] start (out)
to begin a journey; to leave 出发；动身；起程 Extra ExamplesShe had started out late for the meeting. 她开会出发晚了。 They had started out from Saigon the previous day. 他们前一天就已经从西贡出发了。 I should get there by the afternoon if I start early. 如果我早点出发，我应该在下午到达那里。 Make sure you've got everything before we start. 在我们开始之前确保你已经准备好了一切。 They started out at five o'clock in the morning. 他们早上五点钟出发。 What time do we start? 我们什么时候出发？
- [intransitive] + adv./prep.
to begin to move in a particular direction 起身走向；向…而去 - [intransitive]
to move suddenly and quickly because you are surprised or afraid 突然一惊
doing something做事
happening发生
machine/vehicle机器；车辆
existing存在
from place/level/in particular way
journey旅行
going/walking走
move suddenly突然一动
Word OriginOld English styrtan ‘to caper, leap’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch storten ‘push’ and German stürzen ‘fall headlong, fling’. From the sense ‘sudden movement’ arose the sense ‘initiation of movement, setting out on a journey’ and hence ‘beginning of a process, etc.’.
Idioms
don’t start | don't you start
get/set/start/keep the ball rolling
to make something start happening; to make sure that something continues to happen 开始某事；继续某事
get/start off on the right/wrong foot (with somebody)
get started
start/get off on the right/wrong foot (with somebody)
- (informal)
to start a relationship well/badly 开始时关系良好／不好 I seem to have started off on the wrong foot with the new boss. 我和新老板的关系似乎一开始就不好。
start something
- (informal)
to cause trouble 制造麻烦；惹是生非
to start with
used when you are giving the first and most important reason for something （给出首要理由）首先，第一 To start with it’s much too expensive… 首先是太贵…
at the beginning 起初；开始时 The club had only six members to start with. 这家俱乐部起初仅有六名会员。 I'll have melon to start with. 我要先吃甜瓜。 She wasn't keen on the idea to start with. 她一开始并不喜欢这个主意。
you, he, she, etc. started it
- (informal)
used to blame somebody for beginning a fight or an argument 是你（或他、她等）挑起来的