commence
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commence
- /kəˈmɛns/ Canada, US, UK
- /kəˈmens/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɛns
Where it comes from
From Middle English commencen, comencen (also as contracted comsen, cumsen), from Anglo-Norman comencer, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre, formed from Latin com- + initiō (whence English initiate).
verb commences · commencing · commenced
- To begin, start. Here the anthem doth commence:
- To begin, start. The speeches commenced three days of workshops, seminars, and cultural activities.
- To begin or start. At dawn we'll commence to drive.
- To begin to be, or to act as. […] he furnish’d me with a Gun, Cartouch-box, and Powder-horn, &c. and thus accouter’d I commenc’d Soldier.
- To take a degree at a university. […] I question whether the Formality of Commencing was used in that Age: inclining rather to the negative, that such Distinction of Graduates was then unknown […]
Similar: begin · Opposite: stop, end, cease, finish, conclude, complete
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: begin, start, set about, get, set out, start up, start out, lead off, embark on, starting, startup, proceed, beginning, outset, commencement, opening
Translations
Talk about this word "commence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/commence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. commence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/commence "commence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/commence.Cite this
@misc{commence_2026,
title = {commence},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/commence},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
