false start

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noun

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.

a failure to begin an undertaking successfully.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of false start

First recorded in 1805–15

Words nearby false start

false relation, false rib, false ribs, false scorpion, false Solomon's-seal, false start, false step, false teeth, false topaz, falsetto, false vampire

Other definitions for false start (2 of 2)

false-start

[ fawls-stahrt ]

/ ˈfɔlsˈstɑrt /

verb (used without object) Sports.

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

Origin of false-start

First recorded in 1805–15

How to use false start in a sentence

Some statewide apps in the US have similarly suffered from false starts and relaunches.
Why some countries suspended, replaced, or relaunched their covid apps|Lindsay Muscato|December 23, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The development’s complicated 17-year history, marked by ownership changes, false starts, and broken promises, had already put American Dream in a precarious situation.
The death of the department store and the American middle class|Jason Del Rey|November 30, 2020|Vox
We can’t have any false starts or penalties or anything like that.
Navy is back in action at last but sputters to a 10-7 loss to Memphis|Kareem Copeland|November 29, 2020|Washington Post
Bowell missed from 54 yards, but the Steelers were called for a false start.
Steelers stay unbeaten, Chargers drop another heartbreaker in NFL Week 9|Cindy Boren, Mark Maske, Des Bieler|November 9, 2020|Washington Post

Boswell, a sixth-year veteran, had missed his first attempt from 54 yards out, but a false start penalty gave him a second chance.
Steelers stay unbeaten, Chargers drop another heartbreaker in NFL Week 9|Cindy Boren, Mark Maske, Des Bieler|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
Had Paul's thinking been more open to the Spirit's touch at that point, he wouldn't have made the false start.
Quiet Talks with World Winners|S. D. Gordon
He was more than disappointed at the upshot of his wild speculations, and in himself for the false start that he had made.
The Shadow of the Rope|E. W. Hornung
A false start was made from Nigeria with insufficient forces, which met with disaster towards the end of August.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
It is just this that convinces me we have made a false start as regards the education and ambitions of our young men.
Worldly Ways and Byways|Eliot Gregory
Then, as already related, came his student-years in Paris, and his false start as an historical painter.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various

Other Idioms and Phrases with false start

false start

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]