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statecraft
start when one of the actors forgot his opening lines. | a good
education that gave her the best possible start in life | It's
getting late; we'd better make a start on the cooking. (=begin
to do it) | The whole holiday was really enjoyable from start
to finish. 2 [the S] the first part or moments: The start of
the film was rather dull. 3 [C] a place of starting: The
runners lined up at the start. 4 [C;U(on, over)] the amount by
which one person is ahead of another: The thieves have a
three-hour start on us so their track will be hard to fol-
low. 5 [C usually sing.] a sudden uncontrolled movement,
especially of surprise: I woke up from the bad dream with a
start. 6 for a start see START → see also FALSE START,
FLYING START, HEAD START
START /sta:t||'sta:rt/ abbrev. for Strategic Arms Reduction Talks;
talks between the US and the former Soviet Union, which
aimed to reach agreement about reducing the number of
NUCLEAR WEAPONS that each country kept. Two START Trea-
ties (=official agreements) were signed, START I (1991) and
START II (1993), in which each country promised to destroy
several types of nuclear weapons → compare SALT
start-er /'sta:tə||'sta:r-/ n 1 a person, horse, car etc, in a
race or match at the start: Of eight starters, only three
finished the race. 2 a person who gives the signal for a race
to begin: The starter fired his starting gun. | The horses are
now under starter's orders. (=will soon begin to race) 3 an
instrument for starting a machine, especially an electric
motor (starter motor) for starting a petrol engine 4 infml,
especially BrE the first part of a meal: Would you like soup or
melon as a starter? 5 for starters infml first of all; as a
beginning → compare BEGINNER; see also NONSTARTER,
SELF-STARTER
starter home n BrE a small house or flat which does not
cost very much to buy and is usually bought by a young
person or man and woman buying their first home: We need
to develop more low cost starter homes to help the younger
generation gain a footing on the property ladder.
tarting block n either of a pair of blocks fixed to the
ground against which a runner's feet push off at the start of
a race
tarting gate n a gate or set of gates which opens to start a
horse, dog, or SKI race
tarting line n the starting line the line at which a race
begins → compare FINISHING LINE
tarting price n the last PRICE (=return for money risked)
offered just before a horse or dog race begins
tar-tle /'sta:tl||'sta:rtl/ v [T] to cause (someone) to be
suddenly surprised, sometimes making them jump; give an
unexpected slight shock to: You startled me! I didn't hear you
come in. | a startling revelation/piece of news | She gave a
startled jump. | We were startled by the news/startled to hear
they were getting divorced. —lingly adv: startlingly pale
tar ,Trek a very popular US SCIENCE FICTION television
programme of the 1960s about the adventures of a group of
people travelling through space in the STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
The characters include Captain KIRK, SCOTTY, and Mr SPOCK,
and there are several well-known phrases from the pro-
gramme, such as 'Space – the final frontier', 'to boldly go
where no man has gone before', and 'BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY'. In
the 1980s and 1990s there were several new programmes
based on the original idea, including Star Trek – The Next
Generation and Star Trek – Deep Space Nine. There have also
been several successful films based on the Star Trek stories.
People who are very interested in the programme and its
characters are called 'Trekkies', and there are regular CON-
VENTIONS (=large meetings) of Star Trek followers, as well as
many WEBSITES. → see also BOLDLY, KLINGON, TREKKIE
tart-rite /'sta:traɪt||'sta:rt-/ trademark a British company
that makes good quality shoes for children
tart-up adj AmE of the money needed to begin a new
business: high start-up costs
tar 'turn n BrE the most successful person in a group of
people of the same type, especially the most successful actor,
musician, or sports player
tarv-a-tion /sta:'veɪʃən||sta:r-/ n [U] suffering or death
from lack of food: dying of starvation | (infml) I'm on a
starvation diet. (=eating very little food in order to become
thinner)
starv'ation ,wages n [P] wages that are not enough to pay
for the things necessary for life
starve /sta:v||'sta:rv/ v [I;T] 1 to (cause to) suffer or die from
great hunger: Thousands of people could starve if the crops
fail again. | They got lost in the desert and starved to death. |
I'd rather starve than work for that company. | starving
children in the famine area | (infml) What's for lunch? I'm
starving! (BrE)/I'm starved! (AmE) (=very hungry) 2 [(of)] to
(cause to) suffer from not having some stated thing: The
teachers said the schools were being starved of resources. |
neglected children who are starved of affection
starve·ling /'sta:vlıŋ||'sta:r-/ n lit a person or animal that is
thin and unhealthy from lack of food
'Star Wars¹ n [U] an informal name for SDI
Star Wars² (1977) a very popular US film made by George
LUCAS, the first in a series of six films about people in the
future who live in a distant part of the universe. The film
describes the battles between the forces led by Luke SKY-
WALKER and those led by the evil DARTH VADER. The good
characters in the film are helped and protected by a magic
power called 'the Force', and they sometimes say to each
other 'The Force be with you'. It is known for its exciting and
impressive SPECIAL EFFECTS. There are also several non-
human characters, including a talking ROBOT called 'R2D2'.
stash¹ /stæʃ/ v [T+obj+adv/prep] infml to store secretly; hide: He
keeps his money stashed (away) under the bed.
stash² n [(of)] infml a secret store: a stash of drugs
Sta·si /'sta:zi/ the secret government police of the former
East Germany. The Stasi was known for secretly watching
ordinary citizens and collecting information about them for
the government.
state¹ /steɪt/ n 1 [C(of)] a condition in which a person or
thing is; a particular way of being, feeling, or thinking
considered with regard to its most important or noticeable
quality: Water can exist in three states: a liquid state, a gaseous
state (=steam) and a solid one. (=ice) | I'm very concerned
about the state of her health. | The survivors of the fire are still
in a state of shock. | He seems to be in a rather confused state
of mind. | A state of war now exists between the two
countries. | The house we're buying is in a very good state of
repair. | the deteriorating state of the country's roads | an
embarrassing state of affairs (=situation) 2 [(the)U] (often cap.)
the government or political organization of a country:
Should industry be controlled by the state? The ministers were
discussing important matters of state. | What is the proper
relationship between Church and State? | state-owned
railways | state secrets → see also POLICE STATE, WELFARE
STATE 3 [C] a country considered as a political organization:
Most former colonies have now become self-governing states. |
France is one of the member states of the EEC. → see RACE
(USAGE) 4 [C] (often cap.) any of the smaller partly self-
governing areas making up certain nations: the 50 states of
the US | Queensland is one of the states of Australia. | the state
elections in California 5 [U] the grandness and ceremony
connected with governments and rulers: The Queen drove to
the palace in state. | The President paid a state visit to
Britain. | The opening of Parliament is one of the great state
occasions. → see also lie in state (LIE) 6 [C usually sing.] infml a
very nervous, anxious, or excited condition: She let herself
get in/into a state before the exams.
state² v [T] 1 to say, express, or put into words, especially
formally: State your name and address. | This book states the
case for women's rights very clearly. | [+(that)] The witness
stated that he had not seen the woman before. | [+wh-] Please
state whether you are married or single. 2 to mention exactly,
especially before or in advance; SPECIFY: Theatre tickets must
be used on the stated date.
,State at'torney n → see STATE'S ATTORNEY
,state 'benefits n [P] (in Britain) money given by the
government to people who are poor, without a job, ill etc →
see also CHILD BENEFIT, HOUSING BENEFIT, SICKNESS BENEFIT,
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT
'state ,court n a court in the US which hears cases that have
to do with state laws or a state's CONSTITUTION → see Feature
on page A23
state·craft /'steɪtkra:ft||-kræft/ n [U] the art of govern-
ment; the skill of being a STATESMAN