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

The current contract started out tamely enough in 2021, but then Martinez and the old board amended it in December 2022, a bit over two months before the first round of the mayoral election. —Tom Geoghegan, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2025

Of course, the decision to base a competition car on the street-legal Mustang brings up the prospect of Shelby starting out with a Ford Mustang GTD as a platform instead. —Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

Just to start out: the federal EV tax credit is still alive and kicking. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 22 Jan. 2025

After starting out in business with Elliott Whitall, Javits ventured out on his own in 1985. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 20 Jan. 2025