starting
noun
Simple meaning
Beginning to do something, or making something begin.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
stahrtingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈstɑɹtɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of something that starts.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of something that starts.
Used this way, starting is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An electric motor for starting an engine.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Block providing bracing for a runner's feet at start of a race.
Buffer solution at the start of a reaction.
A movable barrier on the starting line of a race course.
Crank used to start an engine.
A line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game.
An electric motor for starting an engine.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
An electric motor for starting an engine.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.