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démarrer

to start, to get going

verb deh-mah-REH Less Common

Also means

to drive off, to launch

Usage Note

démarrer is a regular -er verb originally tied to nautical 'unmooring' (dé- + amarrer). Today it covers starting a car (démarrer la voiture), launching a project (démarrer un projet), or a person getting going. The noun démarrage means 'start-up' or 'launch'.

Examples

"La voiture refuse de démarrer."

Natural Translation

The car refuses to start.

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