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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

See Examples For:

false start false-start

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

Like an umpire in football who calls a holding penalty, the only time anyone notices a starter in track is when there’s a false start.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 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

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

Herbert said the offense was trying to use the cadence as a weapon to neutralize the Kansas City front, but the tactic backfired with four false-start penalties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024

Hoping to try to get within one score — two points if they could manage a touchdown — the Panthers drew three false-start flags within four attempted snaps and moved themselves out of field-goal range.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023

He also drew two false-start penalties in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 4, 2022

Herbert was stuffed for no gain, a potential momentum-turning stop by the Giants, but the play was nullified by left guard Matt Feiler’s false-start penalty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2021

At all events, that wonderful false-start came to nothing.

From God and Mr. Wells A Critical Examination of 'God the Invisible King' by William Archer