1A device to start an engine by the downward thrust of a pedal, as in older motorcycles.
the redesigned kick-starter is easier to use
Example sentencesExamples
It has two wheels in front and one in back, a kick-starter, a hand-operated windscreen wiper, and no reverse gear.
It still retains the kick-starter, but also has an electric start for when you don't feel energetic.
The engine was awakened on the third kick of the kick-starter.
It was joy unlimited as the kick-starter curved through its arc for the second time and the engine roared into life.
He had added an electric starter as an alternative to the kick-starter.
1.1Something that provides an impetus to start or resume a process.
traders labelled the project a kick-starter for Port Adelaide's rejuvenation
Example sentencesExamples
An obscure cult flick from 1980 may deserve the kudos (or the blame) as the kick-starter for this subgenre.
Its economy as a global kick-starter is derided.
This act is the likely kick-starter, at least in the House of Representatives.
The network is hoping this show can be a kick-starter for the Tuesday block.
It's a kind of literary kick-starter, awarded not on the basis of past achievement but as an "investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential."
Definition of kick-starter in US English:
kick-starter
noun
1A device to start an engine by the downward thrust of a pedal, as in older motorcycles.
the redesigned kick-starter is easier to use
Example sentencesExamples
It has two wheels in front and one in back, a kick-starter, a hand-operated windscreen wiper, and no reverse gear.
It was joy unlimited as the kick-starter curved through its arc for the second time and the engine roared into life.
It still retains the kick-starter, but also has an electric start for when you don't feel energetic.
The engine was awakened on the third kick of the kick-starter.
He had added an electric starter as an alternative to the kick-starter.
1.1Something that provides an impetus to start or resume a process.
traders labeled the project a kick-starter for Port Adelaide's rejuvenation
Example sentencesExamples
An obscure cult flick from 1980 may deserve the kudos (or the blame) as the kick-starter for this subgenre.
It's a kind of literary kick-starter, awarded not on the basis of past achievement but as an "investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential."
Its economy as a global kick-starter is derided.
This act is the likely kick-starter, at least in the House of Representatives.
The network is hoping this show can be a kick-starter for the Tuesday block.