commences

Commences is the third-person singular present tense of the verb commence. It denotes the act of beginning or starting something, such as a project, ceremony, process, or period. In formal writing, it is commonly used to describe scheduled or planned initiation, for example, “The ceremony commences at noon” or “Construction commences next week.” It can also be transitive, as in “to commence proceedings” or “to commence operations.”

The verb derives from Old French comencer and is closely related to the noun commencement, which refers to the beginning of something. The forms have been used in English since the Middle Ages and remain characteristic of formal or institutional diction.

Usage notes: While “start” or “begin” are more common in everyday speech, “commence” appears frequently in legal, governmental, or ceremonial contexts. The phrase “to commence with” is used to introduce the first item in a sequence, as in “The meeting will commence with a brief introduction.” The noun form “commencement” also has a specialized sense in American English as the name of a graduation ceremony, and in British English to mean the start of an event.

Related terms include commencement, begin, and start.