Phrase guide

to begin with

adv · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adv

Meaning 1

Initially, at first, at the very start.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • To begin with, we moved the furniture out of the room.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: at first, to start with

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

In the first place.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Double my wages? You weren't paying me anything to begin with!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: to start with

Antonyms: none provided

3

adverb

Meaning 3

before now

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • why didn't you tell me in the first place?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: in the first place, earlier, in the beginning, originally

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Russian: для начала (dlja načala) — initially
  • Serbo-Croatian: za početak — initially
  • Swedish: till att börja med — initially
  • Swedish: inledningsvis — initially
  • Tamil: முதலில் (mutalil) — initially
  • Turkish: başta olmak üzere — initially
  • Turkish: en başından — initially
  • Finnish: ensinnäkään — in the first place
  • Finnish: alun alkujaankaan — in the first place
  • Serbo-Croatian: za početak — in the first place
  • Serbo-Croatian: na početku — in the first place
  • Swedish: till att börja med — in the first place
  • Tamil: முதலில் (mutalil) — in the first place