starting gun

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

starting gun

noun starting guns

A gun fired to start a race. No one told you when to run / You missed the starting gun
Similar: starting pistol, starter pistol
figuratively A signal to start or proceed; something that triggers an event or situation. “In the fight for voting rights, this vote was the starting gun, not the finish line,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader. “We will not let it go. We will not let it die. This voter suppression cannot stand.”
Similar: starting signal

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"starting gun." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/starting%20gun. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

starting gun. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/starting%20gun

Chicago

"starting gun." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/starting%20gun.

BibTeX

@misc{starting_gun_2026,
  title = {starting gun},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/starting%20gun},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}