jump-start (jŭmp'stärt')
tr.v.
jump-start·ed, jump-start·ing, jump-starts
To start (the engine of a motor vehicle) by using a booster cable connected to the battery of another vehicle or by engaging the drive train while the vehicle is rolling downhill or being pushed. Informal To start or reinvigorate (an activity, system, or process): "struggled to jump-start his once front-running . . . presidential campaign" (Susan Feeney).
n. The act, process, or an instance of starting a motor vehicle by using a booster cable or suddenly releasing the clutch while the vehicle is being pushed. Informal The act or an instance of starting or setting in motion a stalled or sluggish system or process.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
jump-start
- n.
the act of starting a car by getting power—through jumper cables—from another car. : Who can give me a jump-start?
- tv.
to start a car by getting power from another car. : I can't jump-start your car. My battery is low.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
jump-start (so)
- tv.
to get someone going or functioning. : I need to jump-start Bill early in the morning to get him going in time to get on the road by a decent hour.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
[juhmp-stahrt] 
