Commence (en. Begin)

/kɔ.mɑ̃s/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

To initiate or start something.

She is starting her new job tomorrow.

Elle commence son nouveau travail demain.

To begin a process or action.

We are going to start the project next week.

Nous allons commencer le projet la semaine prochaine.

To take the start in a competition.

The marathon starts at eight o'clock.

Le marathon commence à huit heures.

Comes from the Latin 'cominitiare', which means 'to begin'.

to start with

to initiate something by tackling a first element.

commencer par

to begin to

to undertake an action or a state.

commencer à

to start a career

to begin a series of jobs or professional activities.

commencer une carrière

commencement

The beginning of something.

commencement

starting

Who is commencing, who is at the beginning.

commençant

To start something informally.

Let's start easy, no need to hurry.

On va commencer tranquille, pas besoin de se presser.

To launch an activity in an improvised way.

Come on, let's start the game without thinking too much.

Allez, on commence le jeu sans trop réfléchir.