start from scratch
idiom
: to begin from a point at which nothing has been done yet
Nothing like this had ever been done before, so we had to start from scratch.
Examples of start from scratch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The series, the tale of a wealthy family forced to start from scratch in the middle-of-nowhere town of the title, amassed a cult following during the pandemic.
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Meriam Bouarrouj, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
This democratization enabled companies and researchers to build domain-specific applications without having to start from scratch.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
New lessons in how to accomplish things with this front office would start from scratch.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Because the house was already full of furniture, the designer, Allison Allen, didn’t have to start from scratch.
—Zoe Gowen, Southern Living, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for start from scratch
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Meriam Bouarrouj, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
This democratization enabled companies and researchers to build domain-specific applications without having to start from scratch.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
New lessons in how to accomplish things with this front office would start from scratch.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Because the house was already full of furniture, the designer, Allison Allen, didn’t have to start from scratch.
—Zoe Gowen, Southern Living, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for start from scratch
Cite this Entry
“Start from scratch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/start%20from%20scratch. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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