When something commences or you commence it, it begins. The academic year commences at the beginning of October They commenced a systematic search The hunter knelt beside the animal carcass and commenced to skin it. = begin. to begin or to start something (comencer, from cominitiare, from com- ( COM-) + initiare )
get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack"
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "We began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's get down to work now"