nonstarter

noun

non·​start·​er ˌnän-ˈstär-tər 

1

: one that does not start

2

: someone or something that is not productive or effective

… his son has been, in politics a nonstarter …

—Anthony Lejeune

Examples of nonstarter in a Sentence

She's the leading scorer among the team's nonstarters.

Recent Examples on the Web

Too much precarity, too little success, and too much commitment to naturally-occurring outcomes means that openly agitating for more diversity can be a nonstarter. — Adia Harvey Wingfield, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

For McLaughlin and Neal, handing over power to a corporation is a nonstarter. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Aug. 2026

But negotiations for a permanent peace have stalled, and Iran has continued to menace the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to charge tolls for ships using the vital waterway, a nonstarter for American allies in the Persian Gulf. — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026

That fee was clearly a nonstarter for most shippers and oil companies. — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nonstarter

• arter
• barter
• charter
• darter
• garter
• martyr
• smarter
• starter
• tartar