starter

6 definitions • 13 examples

a small dish served as the first part of a meal:

We had soup/pâté/pasta as a starter.

I ordered a starter of smoked salmon.

Half a stuffed pepper makes a good starter.

a person, animal, or organization that takes part in an activity, especially a race, when it begins:

Of the ten starters (= horses that started in the race), two fell at the first fence.

a person who gives the signal to start a race:

They all wait for the crack of the starter's pistol.

The starter waved the green flag and 43 cars raced past the grandstand.

He was convinced that the race starter had allowed one of the runners to go early.

something used to begin something:

These are great starters for a lesson.

The program opened with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, which was a good starter.

a mixture that contains bacteria and is fermenting (= changing in a chemical process), used in making some foods such as yogurt, cheese, and sourdough bread:

Use a tablespoon of yogurt from a previous batch as starter.

How long can you keep your sourdough starter going in the fridge?

You will need some yogurt to provide your starter culture.

a person, thing, or organization that is involved at the beginning of an activity, esp. a race:

Only four of the ten starters finished the race.