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

Example Sentences

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

From BBC

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

From BBC

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 Salon

But Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee known for his soulful, cerebral presence, has been doing this long enough to know the page is just the starting block.

From Los Angeles Times

“There are lots of people, lots of teams that start with the fanfare and are not there come the final, and others are maybe slow to get out of the starting blocks,” he said.

From Seattle Times