- beginning
- nounADJECTIVE▪ new▪
She spoke of a new beginning for the nation.
▪ auspicious, hopeful, promising▪It was an auspicious beginning to his long career.
▪ inauspicious, unpromising (esp. BrE)VERB + BEGINNING▪ herald, mark, represent, signal, signify, spell, symbolize▪This invention marked the beginning of the modern age.
▪ see, witness▪2001 saw the beginning of a period of rapid growth.
▪ trace▪a custom that traces its beginnings to the 15th century
PREPOSITION▪ at the beginning (of sth)▪I'm paid at the beginning of each month.
▪ from the beginning▪Tell me the whole story, right from the beginning.
▪ in the beginning▪In the beginning I found the course very difficult.
PHRASES▪ the beginning of the end▪That day was the beginning of the end of our friendship.
▪ early beginnings, first beginnings▪The society had its early beginnings in discussion groups.
▪ from beginning to end▪The play was nonsense from beginning to end.
▪ from humble beginnings, from modest beginnings, from small beginnings▪From these small beginnings it grew into the vast company we know today.
▪ be just the beginning, be only the beginning▪These changes are just the beginning: much more is to come.
▪ the very beginning▪I disliked her from the very beginning.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.