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• false start
  false start

  noun

  a premature start by one or more of the contestants, as in a swimming or track event, necessitating calling the field back to start again.
• false-start
  false-start

  verb (used without object)

  to leave the starting line or position too early and thereby necessitate repeating the signal to begin a race.

false start

¹ American  

noun

1. Sports. a premature start by one or more of the contestants, as in a swimming or track event, necessitating calling the field back to start again.

2. a failure to begin an undertaking successfully.

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false-start ² American  

[fawls-stahrt] / ˈfɔlsˈstɑrt /

verb (used without object)

Sports.

1. to leave the starting line or position too early and thereby necessitate repeating the signal to begin a race.

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false start Idioms  

1. A wrong beginning, as in After several false starts she finally managed to write the first chapter. The term originated in racing, where it refers to beginning a race before the starting signal has been given. The expression was soon transferred to other kinds of failed beginning. [Early 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of false start¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Origin of false-start²

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

Until Nvidia can deliver clear follow-through, the risk remains that this move may have been a false start rather than the beginning of a sustained advance.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

After a false start at a resort off Trieste, he arrives in Venice and rides across the lagoon to nearby Lido.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

A third and one from the one-yard line that turned into a missed field goal after a false start stunted the red-zone opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2025

The question hanging over their conference in Bournemouth this weekend is expressed by one of their MPs: "Where do we go now, to make sure it's not a false start?"

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025

"Seriously, is there gonna be one race where you don't false start?"

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds