crouch start

6.0

A low position close to the ground that runners use before a race to start quickly

noun

Specialized

: salida en cuclillas

Most sprinters prefer the crouch start for better acceleration at the beginning of a race.

Examples

The athlete assumed a crouch start before the starter's pistol was fired.
Coaches teach young runners how to master the crouch start technique.
Look at that crouch start!
The athlete took a quick crouch start before the race.
Most sprinters prefer the crouch start for better acceleration at the beginning of a race.
The athlete assumed a crouch start before the starter's pistol was fired.
Coaches teach young runners how to master the crouch start technique.

Antonyms

running start

2.8

A runner who moves at full speed before the race line

Surface Forms

crouch start singular

crouch starts plural

Morphology

crouch + start

The noun 'crouch start' is directly compositional: a 'start' performed by 'crouch(ing)', so a learner who knows 'crouch' and 'start' can readily infer it means the low starting position used by sprinters. This verb+noun compound follows transparent English formation patterns and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, making the meaning immediately accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Crouch start describes the low position sprinters take before a race: they crouch close to the ground with their feet on the starting blocks so they can push forward strongly at the start. That image—being ready to push off—explains why the term means the low beginning position runners use to 'begin quickly' and gain early 'speed'.