start over

start over (third-person singular simple present starts over, present participle starting over, simple past and past participle started over)

1. (idiomatic, transitive, intransitive) to begin again; to return to the beginning

   I forgot to save my work, and I had to start over.

   He had to start the game over because he lost his memory card.

   • 1885, “On Timing Races”, in Outing‎, volume 5, page 44:

     If every man in the heat falls down the first ten yards, don't stop your watch under the impression that they will "start over." They won't.

   • 2010, Kathy O'Keefe, Over His Rainbow: A Single Woman's Journey to God's Promise‎:

     I have often heard of God referred to as the potter who gently and carefully shapes our character, but I am also aware that there are times when the potter mashes the clay and starts over.

   • 2012, Susan Miller, After the Boxes Are Unpacked‎:

     The first step in my process of healing was to choose to let go and leave behind any encumbrances that would prevent me from starting over and moving ahead.