false start

noun

1

: a premature start (as of a race or football play)

2

: an unsuccessful attempt to begin something (such as a career)

Examples of false start in a Sentence

If someone makes a false start, the race is immediately stopped and the runners have to start again.

After several false starts, the researchers were finally able to identify the virus causing the epidemic.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Giants also missed a field goal, committed back-to-back false start penalties and seemed to have trouble handling the crowd noise from visiting 49ers fans. —Matt Barrows, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

In the postgame press conference, Tagovailoa was asked about a false start from Dolphins offensive tackle Larry Borum and supplied a striking explanation. —Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025

Why was right tackle Larry Borom back on the field immediately after his false start turned a 4th and 1 into a 4th and 6, triggering a rare public display of rage by McDaniel, before Riley Patterson missed a 35-yard field goal? —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025

None of it matters because of the penalty, but the false start may actually have saved the streak. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for false start

• counterpart
• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart