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starter

6 4.2

An official who gives the signal to begin a race

noun
/ˈstɑːrtər/

: juez de salida

At the track meet, the starter shouted 'Go!' as he fired the gun to start the competition.
starter pistol
starter gun
official starter

So at the moment when the starter says on your marks, if you watch me, you see me take a deep breath and then I try to clear my mind and listen.

Examples

Number five's rider anticipated the starter's pistol shot, and there were loud groans from the stands.

Fiction book (1991)
All right, time for the starter's gun.

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
All runners please check in at the starters table.

Overcomer (2019)
Anxious wait while the starter raises his flag.

Dream Horse (2021)
Let's go, Bob!" he yelled, cheering his teammates as the starter's gun sounded.

Fiction book (1997)
The starter raised the flag, signaling the beginning of the race.
As the starter pulled the trigger on the starting gun, all the runners took off sprinting.

Synonyms

dispatcher

vsstarter

1 6.0

A person who signals the start of a race, for example by firing a gun

uses a gun or flag to give the race commencement signal

flagman

vsstarter

1 6.3

An official at a race who uses colored flags to give signals to drivers

focuses specifically on giving the race commencement signal rather than ongoing track instructions

Compounds

conversation starter

7 3.5

Something that makes people start talking, like a topic or object

self-starter

2 5.6

A person who starts tasks without being told

starter motor

Specialized

1 4.0

An electric motor that turns a car engine to start it

kick starter

Specialized

4.7

A lever on a motorcycle you push with your foot to start the motor

non-starter

Informal

6.7

An idea or plan that has no chance of success

self-starter

Archaic

6.1

A motor that starts an engine by itself

Surface Forms

starter singular

starters plural

Morphology

starter = start (transparent) = start + er

Agentive '-er' forming the official who starts races; the role is a direct extension of 'start'.

Etymology

The word starter comes from the verb start ('to begin') plus -er ('one who does something'). So a race starter is the official who makes the race begin, for example by firing a gun or waving a flag.