at the outset

at the outset

Also, from the outset. At the start, from the start. For example, He wanted to explain his position from the outset, but there wasn’t time, or At the outset the problem seemed simple, but then it became quite complicated. The noun outset is rarely heard today except in these phrases. [Mid-1700s]

Related Words for at the outset basically, formerly, initially, originally, primitively, first, primarily, incipiently, beforehand