starting block

noun

Track.

a device used by runners, especially sprinters, for increasing their speed off the mark, consisting of a metal or wooden frame, usually secured to the ground at both ends, with adjustable, triangular-shaped blocks on each side for bracing the feet.

starting block

noun

one of a pair of adjustable devices with pads or blocks against which a sprinter braces his feet in crouch starts

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Word History and Origins

Origin of starting block¹

First recorded in 1945–50

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

For me, the characters are all at the starting blocks, but the gun to start the race hasn’t fired yet.

From

Next up was the boys’ 100-meter-dash finals, and because Panek and Barkley were using the same lane, it was her responsibility to hold down his metal starting blocks for him.

From

It is not the sprint finish to the finish line, but the sprint finish to the starting blocks.

From

So - which parts of Team GB triumphed, and which struggled to get off the starting blocks?

From

The result was that she found herself still in the warm-up pool, instead of being on the starting block of the main pool, at call time for the final heat.

From

starting starting gate

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