the act or moment of beginning something
Rain delayed the starting of the race.
He felt nervous at the starting of his new job.
✦ Gerund form of the verb “start,” used as a noun since the 16th century.
existing or happening at the beginning of something
Your starting salary will go up after six months.
We met at the starting point of the hiking trail.
✦ Participial adjective from the verb “start,” used attributively since the early 17th century.
to begin doing something, or for something to begin
Classes start at nine o’clock every morning.
He wants to start learning the guitar this summer.
✦ Old English ‘steartian’ meaning ‘to leap up, begin to move’.
to make a machine, vehicle, or device begin working
Press the green button to start the printer.
It took several tries to start the old truck on the cold morning.
present participle of start – to begin doing something or to begin to happen
We are starting our journey at dawn.
The movie is starting in five minutes, so hurry!
✦ From Old English "styrtan" (to leap up, start). The sense of "to begin" developed in Middle English and the –ing form has been used since the late 14th century.
to move suddenly because of surprise or fear
She started when the cat jumped onto the table.
The sudden bang made the baby start in his sleep.
