commence
verb [ I or T ] formal uk/kəˈmens/ us/kəˈmens/
C2 开始;着手
to begin something
We will commence building work in August of next year. 我们将于明年8月开始破土动工。
Shall we let the meeting commence? 我们开始开会，好吗？
[ + -ing verb ] Unfortunately, he commenced speaking before all the guests had finished eating. 遗憾的是，没等所有客人都吃完，他就开始讲话了。