nonstarter
Americannoun
noun
-
a horse that fails to run in a race for which it has been entered
-
a person or thing that is useless, has little chance of success, etc
Etymology
Origin of nonstarter
First recorded in 1905–10
Explanation
Someone who's a nonstarter never seems to succeed or achieve their goals. A baseball player who strikes out every single time he's up at bat is a nonstarter. A political candidate who loses every election is a nonstarter, and an entrepreneur whose businesses keep failing is also a nonstarter. You can also use this word to describe a plan or idea that's just never going to work: "I can see why you'd want to bring your pony to school, but I think it's a nonstarter." The original meaning of nonstarter was a horse unable to run in a race at the last minute.
Vocabulary lists containing nonstarter
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: non-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In response to AFP's request for comment, an Nvidia spokesperson said "smuggling is a nonstarter".
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Long part of the data-protection law of the EU, right-to-delete was considered un-American and a nonstarter in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Crockett likens that to the approximate weight of a baseball, “which is seen as maybe a nonstarter for mass appeal.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
The case shows that smuggling its chips "is a nonstarter," an Nvidia spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
It never occurred to me that the bug-out would be a nonstarter.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
