Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

be g|ging le t|ter (begging letters ) N‑COUNT A begging letter is a letter from a person or organization in which they ask you to send some money for a particular purpose. [mainly BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □  I wrote hundreds of begging letters to charities and businesses.

be|gin ◆◆◆ /b I g I n/ (begins , beginning , began , begun )

1 VERB To begin to do something means to start doing it. □ [V to-inf] He stood up and began to move around the room. □ [V to-inf] The weight loss began to look more serious. □ [V v-ing] Snow began falling again.

2 VERB When something begins or when you begin it, it takes place from a particular time onwards. □ [V ] The problems began last November. □ [V n] He has just begun his fourth year in hiding. □ [V n] The U.S. is prepared to begin talks immediately.

3 VERB If you begin with something, or begin by doing something, this is the first thing you do. □ [V + with ] Could I begin with a few formalities? □ [V + by ] …a businessman who began by selling golf shirts from the boot of his car. □ [V n prep] He began his career as a sound editor.

4 VERB [no cont] You use begin to mention the first thing that someone says. □ [V with quote] 'Professor Theron,' he began, 'I'm very pleased to see you'. □ [V ] He didn't know how to begin.

5 VERB [no cont] If one thing began as another, it first existed in the form of the second thing. □ [V + as ] What began as a local festival has blossomed into an international event.

6 VERB [no cont] If you say that a thing or place begins somewhere, you are talking about one of its limits or edges. □ [V prep/adv] The fate line begins at the wrist.

7 VERB [no cont] If a word begins with a particular letter, that is the first letter of that word. □ [V + with ] The first word begins with an F.

8 VERB [no cont] If you say that you cannot begin to imagine, understand, or explain something, you are emphasizing that it is almost impossible to explain, understand, or imagine. [EMPHASIS ] □ [V to-inf] You can't begin to imagine how much that saddens me.

9 PHRASE You use to begin with when you are talking about the first stage of a situation, event, or process. □  It was great to begin with but now it's difficult.

10 PHRASE You use to begin with to introduce the first of several things that you want to say. □  'What do scientists think about that?'—'Well, to begin with, they doubt it's going to work.'

11to begin life → see life

be|gin|ner /b I g I nə ^r / (beginners ) N‑COUNT A beginner is someone who has just started learning to do something and cannot do it very well yet. □  The course is suitable for beginners and advanced students.

be|gin|ning ◆◇◇ /b I g I n I ŋ/ (beginnings )

1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The beginning of an event or process is the first part of it. □  This was also the beginning of her recording career. □  Think of this as a new beginning.

2 N‑PLURAL The beginnings of something are the signs or events which form the first part of it. □  The discussions were the beginnings of a dialogue with Moscow.

3 N‑SING The beginning of a period of time is the time at which it starts. □  The wedding will be at the beginning of March.

4 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The beginning of a piece of written material is the first words or sentences of it. □ [+ of ] …the question which was raised at the beginning of this chapter.

5 N‑PLURAL If you talk about the beginnings of a person, company, or group, you are referring to their backgrounds or origins. □  His views come from his own humble beginnings. SYNONYMS beginning NOUN 1