Beginning Meaning
/bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.
nounThat which is begun; a rudiment or element.
Sentence Examples
Your sense of humor is beginning to exert itself.
The flowers are beginning to grow and everything is becoming green.
A story has to have a beginning
CEFR Practice Quiz
She was nervous at the ____ of her speech, but soon felt calm and confident.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
At the ____ of the story, the hero is living in a very small village.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English biginning, beginninge, beginnunge, equivalent to begin + -ing.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"To mark this absolutism of change over the works of man is both pleasing and profitable, for what is more emotional than to observe the hoarness, the mellowness, and the natural final decay of objects whose beginnings date almost from the immemorial […] ?"
— 1871, The Antiquary, volumes 1-2, page 13:
"Basic skills are introduced at this time, such as the use of context or meaning clues and the beginning sounds of words."
— 1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 25:
"“Is anything the matter?” Lady Lindstrom asked anxiously.
“No,” Megan told her. “I’m merely trying to decide where the beginning is.”
“Perhaps at the beginning,” the Chief Constable prompted, rather stupidly, Megan thought.
“Which beginning?” she asked."
— 1975, Frances Keinzley, The Cottage at Chapelyard, page 179:
"The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o’clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers’ barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one’s eyes ache, the men’s voices grated harshly, and the girls’ faces saddened one."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She was nervous at the ____ of her speech, but soon felt calm and confident.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
At the ____ of the story, the hero is living in a very small village.