starts

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of start.

   The engine starts reliably even in cold weather.

   Each lesson starts with a short review of the last one.

   Note

   Most of the verb's meanings work in two directions, and this form shows it plainly: a driver starts the car, and the car starts. The thing set going can be the object or the subject, with no change to the verb. When the meaning is having an origin, it usually takes at: the trail starts at the bridge, the meeting starts at noon.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of start.

   The sprinter was disqualified after two false starts.

   New businesses often face difficult starts in their first year.

   Note

   Each countable meaning of the noun has its own plural. In sport, a player's starts are the games they played from the opening. Gardeners raise tomato starts, young plants grown in pots before transplanting. Someone startled more than once gives several starts. The spelling is the same in every case, so only the context tells them apart.

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