starting block: Meaning and Definition of

start'ing block"

Pronunciation: [key]
— Track. Track.
  1. a device used by runners, esp. sprinters, for increasing their speed off the mark, consisting of a metal or wooden frame, usually secured to the ground at both ends, with adjustable, triangular-shaped blocks on each side for bracing the feet.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.