start out

phrasal verb

started out; starting out; starts out

1

: to begin in a specified way

He started out by introducing himself.

She started out at a slow jog.

The day started out hot and humid.

The story started out good, but I didn't like the ending.

She started out wanting to be a doctor but became a midwife instead.

—often + with

I started out with $100 but I have only $10 left.

Let's start out with some warm-up exercises.

2

: to have a specified quality, identity, job, etc., at the start

What started out as a simple idea has become an expensive and complicated project.

He started out in teaching before becoming a lawyer.

3

: to begin an important period in one's life or career

The couple is just starting out.

She started out on a career in teaching.

4

: to begin a trip

They started out in the early morning.

5

: to have a particular place as a beginning point

The parade starts out at the intersection of First and Main.

Examples of start out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like everyone else, the dog starts out in black and white, only for his slurping tongue to gain some Technicolor. —Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2025

But as of now, visibility is too low to start out on a new road trip. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025

In order to learn the language, Linebaugh started out with books, audiotapes, and watching Tamil movies but quickly realized that learning the language was challenging. —Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025

Just look at how many Oscar nominees now start out at those two festivals: Five of this year’s Best Picture hopefuls started at the two festivals, with Cannes winner Anora and Emilia Pérez and Venice entry The Brutalist dominating this year’s U.S. awards scene. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for start out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout