to start with

to start with

1. From the outset; initially; in or at the very beginning. I never would have bought this car to start with if I'd known there weren't airbags. You should have said you were feeling ill to start with! I wouldn't have given you such a hard time if I'd known.

2. As the first of a given set of points (e.g., in an argument). Why am I quitting? Well, to start with, I haven't been paid for overtime in nearly a year, and I just don't feel valued as an employee in general. There are a lot of problems with your paper. To start with, you just seem to move from point to point at random.

See also: start, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

to start with

Also, to begin with. In the first place, initially, as in We'll notify him by e-mail to start with, or To begin with, they haven't paid their taxes in years. The first term dates from the second half of the 1800s, the variant from the mid-1500s. Also see for openers.

See also: start, to

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

to start with

1. At the beginning; initially.

2. In any case.

See also: start, to

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.