self-starter

[ self-stahr-ter ]

/ ˈsɛlfˈstɑr tər /

Informal. a person who begins work or undertakes a project on his or her own initiative, without needing to be told or encouraged to do so.

Origin of self-starter

First recorded in 1890–95

self-start·ing, adjective

Enough of your threatening to be a self-starter; now marks a turning point when you either do it or shut it.

The Stars Predict Your Week |Starsky + Cox |September 24, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
When I came out my car refused to go; the self-starter appears to have gone on a strike.

Shavings |Joseph C. Lincoln
In haste they scrambled aboard, and pressed the self-starter on the engine.

Air Service Boys Over The Rhine |Charles Amory Beach
On the level Bud went into neutral and pressed the self-starter with a pessimistic deliberation.

Cabin Fever |B. M. Bower

The paper was put away at once, and with a whirr from the self-starter the motor throbbed.

The Golf Course Mystery |Chester K. Steele
Ed had been the first to reach the structure, and, quickly switching on the self-starter, had run the machine out.

The Motor Girls on the Coast |Margaret Penrose

self-starter

the former name for a starter (def. 2)

a person who is strongly motivated and shows initiative, esp at work