starts 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of start
1
as in jumps
to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise) I started from my chair when I heard the sudden scream

Synonyms & Similar Words

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starts

2 of 2

noun

plural of start

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of starts
Verb
If this is an organization that is trying to be taken more seriously, then accountability starts with the front office itself — not with a player saying what everyone around the league is already thinking. Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025 Hydroplaning is when a vehicle starts uncontrollably sliding on wet roads. Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2025 Hydroplaning happens when a vehicle starts sliding uncontrollably on wet roads. Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 6 Sep. 2025 Open-source and classroom-ready SustainaPrint starts with a custom interface where users upload 3D models. Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2025 That is, until Batista’s cell starts ringing. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025 The change the world needs now starts from within us. Jessica Dulong, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025 Expenditures are expected to exhaust cash by the 2030s when major construction starts. Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025 What starts as a rouse to complete a business deal quickly evolves into something a little too real between the unsuspecting pair—while Sabrina’s Vogue internship in Paris adds an extra touch of fashionable fun. Emma Specter, Vogue, 30 Aug. 2025
Noun
The Red Sox now have five starters on the IL (Dustin May went down this week), leaving them one injury away from potentially starting either Connelly Early or Payton Tolle — who have four major-league starts between them — in a must-win wild-card game. Chad Jennings, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025 Fresh starts aren’t failure—they’re freedom. Marie Quintana, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 After making 35 appearances (16 starts) with Triple-A Omaha, the club wanted Bowlan to make a positional change. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025 The Patriots and Dolphins both got off to disappointing starts. Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025 King being able to give them quality innings in postseason starts is considered all but imperative if their postseason is going to last to the end of October. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025 While their starts are valuable to just getting the rotation by right now, there's even more to assess from these spot starts. Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025 The theme of training camp and the preseason was for the Bengals to avoid the slow starts that plagued them in the past, so starters played in the first two preseason games. Jason Hoffman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2025 Or the skewering and scathing kind from social media, where everyone’s a target by armchair quarterback blowhards, including over four mixed starts at Arizona State in 2023. Joe Davidosn, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for starts
Verb
  • At each new hour, the numeral jumps into place.
    Carol Besler, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Oklahoma jumps after a comfortable win against Michigan.
    Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Beginning to disconnect from your life and relationships Trauma can also be a piece of the picture—whether your work situation causes trauma or activates old trauma.
    Jess Cording, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • What happens from there was, for me, almost completely unexpected and Harrow activates both the brain and the heart in equal measure.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The practice week begins in earnest on Wednesday.
    Zach Berman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • When the sun begins to dip, head over to the Catalina Casino.
    Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • There’s now just one last day of preseason games before the NFL commences its regular season.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Cade Klubnik is already getting high praise before the season even commences.
    Cecil Merkerson, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The beginnings of it are depicted in true disaster movie style, with ominous music and a collapsing electric pylon that causes a faulty cable to fall to the ground.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Here is the emphasis on the hardscrabble beginnings and obstacles to be overcome, here is the recognition of a truly raw but once-in-a-lifetime talent that converts the nonbelivers, here are the early wins and the training montages and the tragedies and the comebacks.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In the last 10 years, cybersecurity defenses have been bolstered through CISA 2015, a law passed by Congress and signed by former President Barack Obama that establishes a framework for information sharing around threats, vulnerabilities and attacks.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Bill 2331/22, as drafted by congressional representative Jandira Feghali, establishes that streaming services will have to pay a 6% Condecine tax on their gross revenues in Brazil.
    Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Asking for headcount often triggers a budget reflex.
    Sarah Chambers, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Although the shooting causes alarm and triggers police investigations, Serafina initially escapes direct consequences by going into hiding.
    Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • This phrase originates from drag culture where performers' wigs are sometimes removed to represent amusement or shock.
    Mia Thurow, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • After undergoing testing, scans and a biopsy, Barbery was diagnosed with olfactory neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that originates in the nasal cavity.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Starts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/starts. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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