started

Started is the past tense and past participle of the English verb start. It indicates that an action, event, or process began at some point in the past. As a main verb it can express initiation, as in The meeting started on time, or it can appear in verb phrases with auxiliaries to form perfect tenses, such as The project has started. It is also used with phrasal verbs like start up, start over, and start out.

Grammatical notes: Start is versatile and can be transitive or intransitive. In transitive use, a direct object can follow (They started a company). Intransitive use does not require an object (The concert started at eight). The past tense and past participle are started, enabling phrases like It started yesterday and The race was started by the referee. The phrase has started can also express aspect, e.g., has started, had started.

Etymology and history: The verb start has Germanic roots and is attested in Old and Middle English; the precise origin is uncertain. The sense of beginning or setting in motion develops early, with later sense extensions to initiating actions, processes, or events. Started is the regular past tense form, used across formal and informal registers. Related terms include begin, commence, initiate, and other phrasal verbs that convey initiation.