starter en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈstɑː.tə(ɹ)/ (UK)
- (US) audio
- /ˈstɑɹ.tɚ/ (US)
- [ˈstɑɹ.ɾɚ] (US)
Etymology
From start + -er.
Meanings
-
Someone who starts, or who starts something.
The most charitable view taken of them by their colleagues was that, as late starters on the journey away from their Labour past, they had not fully understood that the SDP intended to be something new and not just a Mark II Labour Party […]
1982, Hugh Stephenson, Claret and Chips: The Rise of the SDP, page 158:
- Someone who starts, or who starts something. ▸ The person who starts a race by firing a gun or waving a flag.
- Someone who starts, or who starts something. ▸ A starting pitcher.
- Someone who starts, or who starts something. ▸ A person employed to take new players to the first tee at suitable intervals, and to provide them with caddies and equipment.
- Something that starts something. ▸ An electric motor that starts an internal combustion engine.
- Something that starts something. ▸ A device that initiates the flow of high voltage electricity in a fluorescent lamp.
- Something that starts something. ▸ A yeast culture, or a medium containing one, used to start a fermentation process.
-
Something with which to begin; a first property, etc.
It's small, but it's a good starter house.
-
The first course of a meal, consisting of a small, usually savoury, dish.
“Starters are the best things at restaurants,” agrees Chitra Ramaswamy, the restaurant critic for the Scottish edition of the Times, who lives in Edinburgh. […] I would never go to a restaurant and not have a starter.”
2026 June 4, Sarah Phillips, “Always have a starter – and be wary of specials: restaurant critics on 14 ways to order the perfect meal”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
-
(qualifier:team sports) A player in the lineup of players that a team fields at the beginning of a game.
Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga wasn’t a starter at Fulham.
2024 May 6, Sid Lowe, “Portu’s brilliant burst seals Girona’s top-four fairytale in the perfect way”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- A dog that rouses game.
- (UK, historical) A short length of rope formerly used for casual chastisement in the Navy.
-
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of starter signal.
alt of starter signal
The colour-light signals admitting directly to the platforms and the inner starters (for short-length departures well up the platforms) are two-aspect, while those immediately beyond them are three-aspect, but elsewhere four-aspect signals have been installed in association with route indicators.
1961 March, “The new Glasgow Central signalbox”, in Trains Illustrated, page 179:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| starters | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
main · dessert · main course
Deriveds
remote starter · glow starter · starter cable · starter motor · starter kit · non-starter · starter castle · jump starter · blue starter · starter house · starter battery · bungstarter · starter pack · dynostarter · starter pistol · nonstarter · self-starter · starter home · new starter · starter marriage · heart starter · bread starter · starter strip · firestarter · starter dough · starter signal
Hypernyms
Synonyms
appetizer · entrée · hors d'oeuvre
Translations (92)
ru ста́ртер (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · ru пе́рвое блю́до (first course of a meal) · bg стартер (person who starts a race) · sv entré (first course of a meal) · cmn 啟動器 /启动器 (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · da forret (first course of a meal) · nb forrett (first course of a meal) · fr entrée (first course of a meal) · es motor de arranque (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · nb startmotor (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · tr marş motoru (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · es entrante (first course of a meal) · sv entrérätt (first course of a meal) · fr starter (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · fi startti (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · bg ордьовър (first course of a meal) · de Anlasser (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · cs startér (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · nl voorafje (first course of a meal) · mk предјадење (first course of a meal) · fa اردور (first course of a meal) · fi käynnistin (something that starts) · de Starter (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · mi kumamatanga (first course of a meal) · fr démarreur (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · pt partida (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · nn startmotor (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · nn forrett (first course of a meal) · lv ieraugs (yeast culture) · sv startspelare (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · sv förrätt (first course of a meal) · fi käynnistys (something that starts) · bg but see първоначален (something with which to begin) · es titular (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · es estárter (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · ru стартёр (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · hy մակարդ (yeast culture) · cmn 起動機 /起动机 (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · bg предястие (first course of a meal) · fi siemen (yeast culture) · fi avauspelaaja (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · ro demaror (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · fi aloittaja (someone who starts something) · bg разядка (first course of a meal) · nb starter (person who starts a race) · ca entrant (first course of a meal) · fi starttimoottori (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · pt iniciadora (someone who starts something) · nb starter (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · pt afogador (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · es cebador (device that initiates a fluorescent lamp) · cmn 启动机 (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · ca aperitiu (first course of a meal) · fi käynnistysmoottori (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · bg стартер (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · vi bộ khởi động động cơ (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · de Vorgericht (first course of a meal) · bg стартер (device that initiates a fluorescent lamp) · fi lähettäjä (person who starts a race) · fr titulaire (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · cs předkrm (first course of a meal) · fr hors d'œuvre (first course of a meal) · pt titular (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · fi käynnistäjä (someone who starts something) · ka წამომწყები (first course of a meal) · nn startar (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · ka თავი (first course of a meal) · mi kaitīmata (someone who starts something) · tr antre (first course of a meal) · lv pirmais ēdiens (first course of a meal) · gl titular (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · nn startar (person who starts a race) · pl rozrusznik (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · pt entradas (first course of a meal) · bg титуляр (player that a team fields at the beginning of a game) · el μίζα (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · cmn 發令員 /发令员 (person who starts a race) · fi aloitus (something that starts) · it antipasto (first course of a meal) · nl voorgerecht (first course of a meal) · fi sytytin (device that initiates a fluorescent lamp) · es cebador (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine) · mk ордевер (first course of a meal) · fi alkupala (first course of a meal) · es entrada (first course of a meal) · pt iniciador (someone who starts something) · bg стартер (something that starts) · bg стартер (someone who starts something) · fa استارتر (first course of a meal) · de Vorspeise (first course of a meal) · el ορεκτικό (first course of a meal) · ja スターター (electric motor that starts an internal-combustion engine)