starter

American  

[stahr-ter] / ˈstɑr tər /

noun

• starters
  plural

1. a person or thing that starts.

2. a person who gives the signal to begin, as for a race, the running of a train, bus, elevator, etc.

3. a device that starts an internal-combustion engine without a need for cranking by hand.

4. a person or thing that starts in a race or contest.

   Only five starters finished the race.

5. Also called starter culture.  a culture of bacteria used to start a particular fermentation, as in the manufacture of cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, etc.

6. Also called sourdough starter. 

   1. a mixture of water and flour left to ferment over several days to create dough for sourdough bread.

   2. sourdough.

7. Slang. a shill, as at a gaming table in a casino.

8. the card turned face up on the stack before the play, as in cribbage, crazy eights, and other card games.

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adjective

1. constituting a basis or beginning.

   a starter set of dishes; a starter home.

idioms

1. for starters, as the first step or part; initially; first.

   We will have soup for starters. For starters, he doesn't even know how to drive.

starter British  

/ ˈstɑːtə /

noun

1. a device for starting an internal-combustion engine, usually consisting of a powerful electric motor that engages with the flywheel Formerly called self-starter

2. a person who organizes the timely departure of buses, trains, etc

3. a person who supervises and signals the start of a race

4. a competitor who starts in a race or contest

5. informal an acceptable or practicable proposition, plan, idea, etc

6. informal a person who is willing to engage in a particular activity

7. a culture of bacteria used to start fermentation, as in making cheese or yogurt

8. the first course of a meal

9. (modifier) designed to be used by a novice

   a starter kit

10. slang in the first place

11. 1. (of horses in a race) awaiting the start signal

    2. (of a person) eager or ready to begin

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• starters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of starter

First recorded in 1530–40; start + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

starter starters

A useful meal starter is really just a combination of ingredients that already have some chemistry together—a little unit of future possibility.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

The U.S. housing market is undersupplied, particularly when it comes to starter homes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who held the Rockies to one run and two hits in six innings, dominated the first two innings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

It was only after an injury to the starter that Chambliss burst on the scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Morry lowered his raised hand to signal the starter that his boat was ready to row.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

The easiest way to build your own meal starters is not to begin by asking what you should freeze.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Almost 3,400 18-and 19-year-olds joined the university last year – making up 9.5% of new starters, compared with 5.7% six years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

For starters, the OCC issued preliminary conditional approvals for stablecoin banking services to five of our competitors nine months before granting conditional approval to our company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

For starters, Medicaid is a needs-based health-insurance program, and does not expose beneficiaries to the high deductibles found in many private plans.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Why isn’t he hassling Terrell or Wes or any of the other starters, asking them to help Boy21?

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

Related Words

• opener