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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

See Examples For:

false start false-start

Against the Saints, a fourth-down false start penalty stunted the Rams’ first drive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

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

To say he has had a false start at Anfield is a masterpiece of understatement.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025

Ain’t no such thing as a false start.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds

Hoping to try to get within one score — two points if they could manage a touchdown — the Panthers drew three false-start flags within four attempted snaps and moved themselves out of field-goal range.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023

The Seattle Seahawks took a false-start penalty because they couldn’t hear the snap count, then Christine Michael lost a fumble to finish it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

There were two runs that netted just a single yard, a sack, a false-start penalty and a fumbled snap.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

Stefanski said he placed a call to the NFL on Monday for an explanation on a false-start penalty that backed up a potential game-tying field goal by the Browns with just over two minutes left.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

At all events, that wonderful false-start came to nothing.

From God and Mr. Wells A Critical Examination of 'God the Invisible King' by William Archer