starting gate

noun

1
: a mechanically operated barrier used as a starting device for a race
2
: a barrier that when knocked aside by a competitor (such as a skier) starts an electronic timing device

Examples of starting gate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Like a thoroughbred bursting out of the Kentucky Derby starting gate, the second Trump administration has been racing full speed ahead ever since Trump was inaugurated once again as president of the United States. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025 The grade 2 Fleur De Lis goes off as race 7 and offers an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff starting gates on November 1. Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025 The three-year-old boy was rushed to the Upper River Valley Hospital in nearby Waterville, after it was confirmed that he had been struck by a starting gate as it was being towed to the venue’s grandstand by a pickup truck, CBC News and CTV News reported. Latoya Gayle, People.com, 20 June 2025 What started as a five-horse race became four when Concrete Glory was slow to get going out of the No. 5 starting gate and didn’t finish. Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for starting gate

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of starting gate was in 1893

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Cite this Entry

“Starting gate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starting%20gate. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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