Definitions for commence
kəˈmɛnscom·mence

Princeton's WordNet(2.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. get down, begin, get, start out, start, set about, set out, commenceverb

   take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

   "We began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's get down to work now"

2. begin, lead off, start, commenceverb

   set in motion, cause to start

   "The U.S. started a war in the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life"

3. start, start up, embark on, commenceverb

   get off the ground

   "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. commenceverb

   To begin, start.

   Etymology: From commencer, from cominitiare, formed on com- + initiō

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Commenceverb

   to have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin

   Etymology: [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]

2. Commenceverb

   to begin to be, or to act as

   Etymology: [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]

3. Commenceverb

   to take a degree at a university

   Etymology: [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]

4. Commenceverb

   to enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of

   Etymology: [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Commence

   kom-ens′, v.i. to begin: to originate: to take rise.—v.t. to begin: to originate: to enter upon: to take a university degree—e.g. 'to commence M.A.'—n. Commence′ment, the beginning: at certain universities the act of taking the degrees: the ceremony when these are conferred. [O. Fr. comencer—L. com, and initiāre, to begin—in, into, and īre, to go.]

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'commence' in Verbs Frequency: #855

How to pronounce commence?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say commence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of commence in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of commence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of commence in a Sentence

1. Oriola Oluwaseyi:

   Whenever a new session is about to commence, sometimes we get worried when there is no money, coupled with the challenges of taking care of the home.

2. Deodatta V. Shenai-Khatkhate:

   La personne qui a écrit que l'argent ne peut pas acheter le bonier que vous ne savez probablement pas les bons endroits pour magasiner, et surtout, n'a jamais réalisé que le bonheur commence toujours à l'intérieur, à l'intérieur sur l'extérieur et non dans.

3. Benjamin Disraeli:

   Whenever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery.

4. Kerry Adler:

   We do plan to announce in the days ahead the award of the (engineering, procurement, construction) contracts for 7 projects in India and are excited to commence construction of these projects we successfully won in the fall of this year.

5. Margaret Martin:

   It must be positive, it must be practical and it must make them and their children safer from abuse. What is promised on paper must be fully resourced to be effective in protecting those affected by domestic violence. We are concerned that an already over-stretched system will see an increase in demand when the new provisions commence, women must feel change quickly.

Popularity rank by frequency of use