What does starting mean?
Starting refers to the beginning of an activity, process, or event, and is also used to describe the point from which something develops. In phrases such as 'starting point', 'starting date', and 'starting price', it identifies an initial condition, level, or time. As a participle, it can indicate that an action is under way: the engine was starting, or the team is starting its next phase. As a gerund, it refers to the act of beginning itself, especially in phrases such as 'the starting of the process'. The word is common in both formal and informal contexts and is especially useful when discussing plans, prices, schedules, positions, and projects. It can also be used when someone initiates an action, as in 'starting a business' or 'starting a conversation'. Although its basic sense concerns beginnings, it may sometimes imply a preliminary stage rather than the completion of what follows.
The present participle of start, used to describe an action in progress or an action that initiates something.
"They are starting the engine before the cold weather arrives."
The participle may describe either the beginning of an event or the act of initiating it.
Relating to the beginning or initial point of something.
"Please arrive before the starting time."
Common in fixed expressions such as 'starting point', 'starting date', 'starting price', and 'starting salary'.
The action or process of beginning.
"The starting of the project was delayed by bad weather."
This gerund use is less common than the participial and adjectival uses.
The plural is uncommon, but it can be used for separate instances of the action of beginning.
"The programme recorded the startings of the main events."
Starting is both a moment and a motion: it can name the first point of a journey or describe the act of setting it in motion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does starting come from?
Starting is formed from the English verb start by adding the productive suffix -ing, a development that has produced gerunds and participles in English since the Old English period. The base verb start is an old English word with Germanic ancestry, although its precise prehistoric connections are not as securely established as those of many modern English vocabulary items. Modern derivatives such as starter and restart continue to reflect the same verbal root.
Related word forms
How starting is actually used
The word is formal but broadly used in British and American English. As an adjective, it commonly occurs in fixed phrases such as 'starting point', 'starting price', and 'starting time'; as a participle, it may describe either the beginning of a process or the act of initiating it.
Easily confused with starting
Starting means beginning or initiating something, whereas staring means looking fixedly at someone or something.
Starting relates to beginning, while starving means suffering from a lack of food.