starter

[ stahr-ter ]

/ ˈstɑr tər /

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.

Also called start·er cul·ture [stahr-ter kuhl-cher] /ˈstɑr tər ˌkʌl tʃər/ . a culture of bacteria used to start a particular fermentation, as in the manufacture of cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, etc.See also mother².

Also called sour·dough star·ter [souuhr-doh stahr-ter, sou-er-] /ˈsaʊərˌdoʊ ˌstɑr tər, ˈsaʊ ər-/ .

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

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

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

adjective

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

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.

Question 1 of 9

You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?

To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for starter

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

Words nearby starter

star-struck, star-studded, star system, start, start codon, starter, starter home, starters, start from scratch, star thistle, start in

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for starter

For starters, the filter and the question of how effective it might potentially be for both the wearer and the people around them.
LG is releasing a ‘wearable air purifier’|Brian Heater|August 27, 2020|TechCrunch
The final starter, Betnijah Laney, has only improved since we featured her as a breakout star.
There’s No WNBA All-Star Game This Year, But We Picked The Rosters Anyway|Howard Megdal|August 26, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
For starters, several experts told us, women were increasingly likely to join the workforce, particularly in public sector jobs like teaching, which may have reinforced their support for a robust government safety net.
Women Won The Right To Vote 100 Years Ago. They Didn’t Start Voting Differently From Men Until 1980.|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|August 19, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Without southpaws’ hidden advantage, about two out of three left-handed starters would likely be toiling in the bullpen, or in the minor leagues.
What Really Gives Left-Handed Pitchers Their Edge?|Guy Molyneux|August 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

He started five games as the team’s first-ever walk-on true freshman starter, but then an injury knocked him out of the lineup.
When Baker Mayfield Was a Walk-On|Nick Fouriezos|August 14, 2020|Ozy
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

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

starter

noun

adjective

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Idioms for starter

Origin of starter

Words nearby starter

Example sentences from the Web for starter

British Dictionary definitions for starter

noun

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

starter

noun

adjective

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Idioms for starter

Origin of starter

Words nearby starter

Words related to starter

Example sentences from the Web for starter

British Dictionary definitions for starter

noun