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racing start

racing start

3.4
The moment a race begins after a signal
  • noun
translation icon : 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
37 3.7

The official start of an event or activity

is the brief signalled instant at the event's opening
jump-off
vsracing start
  • US
4 4.1

The place or time where an event begins

is the formal, signalled instant rather than a general beginning point
starting time
vsracing start
2 1.8

The planned time when something begins

is the actual signalled instant when the competition begins
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
start-off
vsracing start
3.2

The first moment when a race or event begins

is the formal moment declared by a command or official cue

How Quick

flying start
  • Informal
1 3.7
racing start
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'.