to fire the starting gun
1
5.1
- idiom
- Once the regulations are approved, we can fire the starting gun on construction.
Examples
-
The manager will fire the starting gun on the new initiative at tomorrow's meeting.
-
The mayor will fire the starting gun on the new community project next week, signaling the beginning of construction.
-
The company hopes to fire the starting gun for this ambitious project by summer.
-
They fired the starting gun at exactly noon.
-
Let's fire the starting gun on this project!
-
To fire the starting gun for the annual charity drive, the committee announced a special event on social media.
-
As the team leader, I will fire the starting gun for our new marketing campaign during the next meeting.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To begin an action, event or process
∞
1.0
To start an activity, event, or speech
774
1.8
To begin doing something, for example a task or meeting
765
3.7
To start something new with energy, often in public
465
1.4
To begin a job, project, or career
347
4.5
To start something such as a project or discussion
168
3.5
To start an event or activity, often officially
161
3.2
To start doing something with a clear aim
157
4.4
To begin something
86
3.0
To make a machine or system begin to work
48
3.5
To make something begin to move or happen
29
4.2
Start a project or business successfully so it begins to work
28
3.8
To start an event or activity, for example a speech
17
2.8
To start a meeting or project by taking the first step
16
4.2
Help a project, plan, or the economy begin quickly
4
3.8
To start something quickly and give it extra energy to grow
1
4.9
Start a series of actions that lead to later changes
Antonyms
How Forceful
425
4.2
- Informal
3
3.9
765
3.7
1
5.1
168
3.5
598
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to initiate or begin something' is directly derivable from the literal action of 'firing' a 'starting gun' used to signal the beginning of a race; a learner who knows 'fire' (to shoot), 'starting', and 'gun' can infer the metaphorical extension to beginning an activity. This compositional pattern (use of a signal to mean 'begin') is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the parts is likely to understand the phrase.
Etymology
Fire the starting gun comes from foot races where an official would fire a small starting gun to tell runners to begin. Because that gun gave a clear signal to start, people now use the phrase to mean 'to begin' a project or process.