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Glite Dictionary
🚫 A failed plan 🙅 An unsuccessful person 🐎 A horse not racing
nonstarter

nonstarter

8.2
A horse that does not start a race it was entered for
  • noun
  • /ˈnɒnˌstɑːrtər/
  • Jargon
: no participante
  • The trainer withdrew the nonstarter just moments before the race began.

Examples

  • The horse was a nonstarter in the big race.

  • Many horses were declared nonstarters due to the weather.

  • Due to an injury, the favorite became a nonstarter on race day.

  • Several nonstarters were listed on the official race results sheet.

  • The trainer reported that the horse was a nonstarter due to a hoof injury.

  • Two horses were listed as nonstarters in the race after failing to qualify.

  • The nonstarters failed to show up at the event, leaving fewer competitors on the track.

Antonyms

participant
332 2.4

A person who joins an activity or event

Surface Forms

nonstarter singular
nonstarters plural

Morphology

nonstarter = starter (transparent) = non + start + er

In horse racing, the meaning is literally 'not a starter', so the parts map cleanly onto the sense.

Etymology

Nonstarter comes from horse racing, where it named a horse entered in a race that did not start. So in racing a nonstarter is a horse that fails to take part in the race.