Meaning & use
start fresh
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Meaning
phraseidiom
To begin something again from the beginning, without keeping the mistakes or problems of the earlier attempt.
Grammar: Verb phrase, no object: we decided to start fresh.
Patterns
- start fresh with something
- start fresh in somewhere
After the move, she wanted to start fresh in a new city.
The essay was a mess, so I deleted it and decided to start fresh.
The two companies agreed to start fresh after the dispute.
Word forms
| third person singular | starts fresh |
|---|---|
| past tense | started fresh |
| -ing form | starting fresh |
Common combinations
- decide to start fresh
- After the argument, they decided to start fresh.
- want to start fresh
- I want to start fresh this year.
- start fresh with a clean slate
- They offered him a chance to start fresh with a clean slate.
- a chance to start fresh
- The new job gave her a chance to start fresh.
Synonyms and how they differ
- start over
- Start over is the most common neutral option and does not stress leaving the past behind.
- begin anew
- Begin anew is more formal and literary than start fresh.
- turn over a new leaf
- Turn over a new leaf stresses changing your behavior for the better, not just restarting a task.
Opposites
Word family
- fresh start noun
- a new beginning
- afresh adverb
- again from the beginning
- freshly adverb
- recently or newly
Commonly confused: start fresh or start fast?
start fresh vs start fast
Start fast means beginning quickly; start fresh means beginning again without old problems.
Practice
The project had so many errors that the team decided to ___ rather than fix them one by one.
Choose one answer.
Start fresh means to begin again from the beginning. Carry on would keep the errors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “start fresh”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.