Meaning & use
nonstarter
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Meaning
nouncountableinformal
An idea, plan, or person that has no chance of success, so it is not worth trying.
Grammar: Countable noun: use a/an or the, and a plural nonstarters. Often used after be or seem.
Patterns
- be a nonstarter
- seem a nonstarter
- a nonstarter for someone
The proposal to close the factory was a nonstarter from the beginning.
As a candidate, he was a nonstarter because he had no support in his own party.
Any plan that raises taxes before the election is a nonstarter.
Word forms
| plural | nonstarters |
|---|
Common combinations
- a complete nonstarter
- The idea of building a new stadium without funding was a complete nonstarter.
- a political nonstarter
- That policy is a political nonstarter and will never pass.
- a nonstarter from the start
- The project was a nonstarter from the start because of the cost.
- dismiss something as a nonstarter
- The committee dismissed the plan as a nonstarter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dead end
- A dead end is a situation or plan with no hope of progress, while a nonstarter never even gets going.
- no-hoper
- No-hoper is a more personal and slightly cruel word for a person or thing that cannot succeed.
- lost cause
- A lost cause is something already failing that you keep supporting, but a nonstarter is rejected before it begins.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nonstarter or non-starter?
nonstarter vs non-starter
This is the same word with a hyphen; both spellings are common, but nonstarter is more usual in American English.
Practice
The plan to build a bridge across the river was ______ because the soil was too soft.
Choose one answer.
A nonstarter is an idea or plan that has no chance of success, which fits here. Nonstick describes cooking surfaces, nonstrategic means not related to strategy, and unstarter is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonstarter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.