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Glite Dictionary
racing start

racing start

3 3.4
The moment a race begins after a signal
  • noun
: señal de salida
  • At exactly 10 AM, the racing start gun fired, and the competitors surged forward.

Examples

  • The runners were nervous as they waited for the racing start signal.

  • The referee announced that the racing start would take place after a brief delay.

  • So when does the racing start?

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

start
vsracing start
∞ 1.0

The time or place when something begins

is the specific official moment when a competition truly begins
kickoff
vsracing start
31 3.7

The official start of an event or activity

is the brief signalled instant at the event's opening
starting time
vsracing start
11 1.8

The planned time when something begins

is the actual signalled instant when the competition begins
jump-off
vsracing start
  • US
11 4.1

The place or time where an event begins

is the formal, signalled instant rather than a general beginning point
start-off
vsracing start
1 3.2

The first moment when a race or event begins

is the formal moment declared by a command or official cue
starting signal
vsracing start
1 3.5

A sound or light that shows the start of a race

is the official moment marked by that cue or command

How Quick

flying start
  • Informal
2 3.7
racing start
3 3.4

Surface Forms

racing start singular
racing starts plural

Morphology

racing + start

The meaning 'the moment at which a race officially begins' is directly derivable from combining 'racing' (the activity of racing) with 'start' (the beginning or signal). This is a straightforward noun–noun composition following regular English patterns and is cross-linguistically recognizable, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun racing start comes from the real picture at a race: runners crouch and wait for a signal so the racing action and the start happen at the same moment. That's why it means the exact moment a race 'begins'.