How to spell commence

hear itcom·mence/kə'mɛns/verbHidden vowels

What it means: To begin or start something.

In a sentence: The fireworks will commence when it gets dark.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double m. Often misspelled as comence or commense.

Same family: commenced, commencing, commencement, begin, start. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Commence” comes from Old French *comencier*, from Latin *cominitiare*, meaning “to begin.” It has been used in formal English, especially in legal and ceremonial contexts, since the Middle Ages, which is why it often sounds more official than the simpler word “start.”

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