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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

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

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

After the Bruins committed a false start, edge rusher Kechaun Bennett was called for roughing the passer and targeting, leading to his ejection.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2025

Right when he was telling us about how Curron Outlaw was the king of the false start last year, our waitress returned to the table with our food.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds