starting block
noun Track.
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.
Origin of starting block
First recorded in 1945–50
Words nearby starting block
start something,
start up,
starter,
starter home,
starters,
starting block,
starting gate,
starting grid,
starting handle,
starting price,
starting rate
British Dictionary definitions for starting block
starting block
noun
one of a pair of adjustable devices with pads or blocks against which a sprinter braces his feet in crouch starts