/stahr"teuhr/ , n.
1. a person or thing that starts.
2. a person who gives the signal to begin, as for a race, the running of a train, bus, elevator, etc.
3. a device that starts an internal-combustion engine without a need for cranking by hand.
4. a person or thing that starts in a race or contest: Only five starters finished the race.
5. a culture of bacteria used to start a particular fermentation, as in the manufacture of cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, etc.
6. Cookery. sourdough (def. 1).
7. Slang. a shill, as at a gaming table in a casino.
8. Cribbage. the card turned face up on the stack before the play.
9. for starters , Informal. as the first step or part; initially; first: We will have soup for starters. For starters, he doesn't even know how to drive.
adj.
10. constituting a basis or beginning: a starter set of dishes; a starter home.
[ 1530-40; START + -ER 1 ]