be·gin·ning
bi-ˈgi-niŋ 
bē-
2
: the first part
We missed the beginning of the movie.
4
: a rudimentary stage or early period
—usually used in plural
the company's modest beginnings in an old warehouse
She came from humble beginnings.
1
: just starting out
a beginning writer
2
a
: being first or the first part
the beginning chapters
b
: introductory
beginning chemistry
Synonyms
Examples of beginning in a Sentence
Noun
Go back to the beginning of the song.
We were late, so we missed the beginning of the movie.
The changes that have been made so far are just the beginning. There are many more changes still to come.
He came from humble beginnings.
the company's modest beginnings in an old warehouse
Adjective
the beginning part of the book is a portrait of Europe on the eve of the World War I
a course in beginning geology for nonscience majors
Recent Examples on the Web
David Shortell, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
The online poll opened at the beginning of April for Arizona residents to vote for their favorite license plate design and the winner will be announced on Saturday, April 20.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
Several reported not having their questions answered after they’d been submitted on note cards at the beginning of the meeting.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
From January to March, the U.S. recorded around 30% of the total cases seen since the beginning of 2020.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
Sanders’ proposal echoes what patient-advocates have been calling for since the beginning of the pandemic, a demand that has only become more forceful with time (and the shortcomings of existing long Covid research).
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 11 Apr. 2024
One of the most alluring traits of any Ferrari is that since the beginning they’ve been built to go fast.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
Flynn joined procedural at the beginning of Season 12 as Jake Gibson and appeared in six episodes.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
Consequently, it was intensely logged from the beginning of the 1900s, when Malawi was a British colony known as Nyasaland, straight through to the country’s independence in 1964, despite the Mulanje Mountains being described as a forest preserve as early as 1927.
—Mark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Talia Abbas, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024
The very beginning stages can feel very intimidating!
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 25 Jan. 2024
Nonetheless, the kickback swept in hard during the beginning months of 1986, and many of the complaints came from Black male artists and thinkers.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 7 Jan. 2024
At the very beginning stages of talking to Greta, Tom [Ackerley, Barbie producer], Margot and I went to New York and met with Noah [Baumbach, co-writer] and Greta.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2023
The beginning scene swiftly transitions to a courtroom, where Gary sways the jurors with this same power of persuasion that’s reminiscent of the call and response of the baptist church.
—Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 6 Nov. 2023
The very beginning moments of In Utero are Dave clicking his sticks to cue in the rest of the band to start the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2023
For the beginning bass fisherman looking to level up the game and try their hand at a casting rod, Duckett’s Silverado Casting rod doubles up as my best bass fishing rod for beginners pick as well.
—Rob McDonald, Field & Stream, 13 Sep. 2023
Overconsumption of luxury goods reigned throughout the beginning years of the 2000s.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Aug. 2023
Noun
At the beginning of April, 86 candidates had been approved for security protection from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, according to its figures.
—David Shortell, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
The online poll opened at the beginning of April for Arizona residents to vote for their favorite license plate design and the winner will be announced on Saturday, April 20.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
Several reported not having their questions answered after they’d been submitted on note cards at the beginning of the meeting.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
From January to March, the U.S. recorded around 30% of the total cases seen since the beginning of 2020.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
Sanders’ proposal echoes what patient-advocates have been calling for since the beginning of the pandemic, a demand that has only become more forceful with time (and the shortcomings of existing long Covid research).
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 11 Apr. 2024
One of the most alluring traits of any Ferrari is that since the beginning they’ve been built to go fast.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
Flynn joined procedural at the beginning of Season 12 as Jake Gibson and appeared in six episodes.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
Consequently, it was intensely logged from the beginning of the 1900s, when Malawi was a British colony known as Nyasaland, straight through to the country’s independence in 1964, despite the Mulanje Mountains being described as a forest preserve as early as 1927.
—Mark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Jamie Haller started her brand during the beginning months of the pandemic in 2020.
—Talia Abbas, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024
The very beginning stages can feel very intimidating!
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 25 Jan. 2024
Nonetheless, the kickback swept in hard during the beginning months of 1986, and many of the complaints came from Black male artists and thinkers.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 7 Jan. 2024
At the very beginning stages of talking to Greta, Tom [Ackerley, Barbie producer], Margot and I went to New York and met with Noah [Baumbach, co-writer] and Greta.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2023
The beginning scene swiftly transitions to a courtroom, where Gary sways the jurors with this same power of persuasion that’s reminiscent of the call and response of the baptist church.
—Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 6 Nov. 2023
The very beginning moments of In Utero are Dave clicking his sticks to cue in the rest of the band to start the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2023
For the beginning bass fisherman looking to level up the game and try their hand at a casting rod, Duckett’s Silverado Casting rod doubles up as my best bass fishing rod for beginners pick as well.
—Rob McDonald, Field & Stream, 13 Sep. 2023
Overconsumption of luxury goods reigned throughout the beginning years of the 2000s.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beginning.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near beginning
Cite this Entry
“Beginning.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beginning. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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