starting block

noun

, Track.

1. 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of starting block¹

First recorded in 1945–50