starter

[ stahr-ter ]

/ ˈstɑr tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR starter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that starts.

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

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

a person or thing that starts in a race or contest: Only five starters finished the race.

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

Cookery. sourdough(def 1).

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

Cribbage. the card turned face up on the stack before the play.

adjective

constituting a basis or beginning: a starter set of dishes; a starter home.

Nearby words

start on, start out, start over, start something, start up, starter, starter home, starters, starting block, starting gate, starting grid

Idioms

for starters, Informal. as the first step or part; initially; first: We will have soup for starters. For starters, he doesn't even know how to drive.

Origin of starter

First recorded in 1530–40; start + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for starter

Here's a starter figure, though: the CBO expects Obamacare to reduce labor force participation by about 800,000.
Obamacare: Job Killer or Entrepreneurial Turbocharger?|Megan McArdle|June 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I came here with a movie, Starter for 10 [2006], because Tom Hanks produced it and his company brought us out here.
Alice Eve, the Beautiful New Trekkie, Talks ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’|Marlow Stern|May 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I was talking with Benedict Cumberbatch last week about Hawking and Starter for 10.
Alice Eve, the Beautiful New Trekkie, Talks ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’|Marlow Stern|May 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Paul is an author herself with three books, including Parenting, Inc. and The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony.
Pamela Paul Talks Future of New York Times Book Review|Steve Kettmann|April 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

They got a young big name quarterback who wants to be the starter.
The Broncos Sell Their Future: Tim Tebow Heads to New York Jets|Allen Barra|March 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Jack Ashton had given the starter a lot of trouble at different times, and that official was glad of a chance to rebuke him.
Settling Day|Nat Gould
By doing this each day, a starter may be had for a long period of time.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 1|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
The first may need a small amount of starter, the second a larger quantity.
Outlines of dairy bacteriology|H. L. Russell
Then she came back to her car, got inside, slammed the door and put her foot down on the starter.
Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane|Dorothy Wayne
The horses pranced down the stretch to the quarter pole, where Starter Cassidy told riders just what was expected of them.
History of the Kentucky Derby, 1875-1921|John Lawrence O'Connor

British Dictionary definitions for starter

starter

/ (ˈstɑːtə) /

noun

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

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

a person who supervises and signals the start of a race

a competitor who starts in a race or contest

informal, mainly Australian and NZ an acceptable or practicable proposition, plan, idea, etc

Australian and NZ informal a person who is willing to engage in a particular activity

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

mainly British the first course of a meal

(modifier) designed to be used by a novicea starter kit

for starters slang in the first place

under starter's orders

(of horses in a race) awaiting the start signal
(of a person) eager or ready to begin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

starter

noun

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of starter

Examples from the Web for starter

British Dictionary definitions for starter

starter

noun