jump-start

See also: jumpstart and jump start

English

jump-start (third-person singular simple present jump-starts, present participle jump-starting, simple past and past participle jump-started)

(transitive) To start a motor vehicle by passing an electrical current from a charged battery to the discharged ("dead" or "flat") battery of the vehicle being started, by using booster cables to temporarily connect the two batteries in parallel, or by using a hotshot.
Synonym: boost
(transitive, figuratively) To reactivate or rejuvenate.
Synonyms: boost, reactivate, kick start

Giving a really good speech at the convention could jump-start her political career.
- 2022, NoViolet Bulawayo, Glory, Chatto & Windus, page 262:
  ‘That debt means we can’t access credit to jump-start the economy as needed.’

Start a motor vehicle — see also hot-wire

French: ponter (fr), démarrer par pontage (fr)
Spanish: pasar corriente, yumpear (Dominican Republic), yompear (Latin America), jumpear (Latin America), jompear (Dominican Republic)

jump-start (plural jump-starts)

The process or result of jump-starting a motor vehicle.
I left my headlights on all night. Could you give me a jump-start?
(sports) A false start.
Synonyms: jumped start, jumped-start, false start, flier, flyer

false start — see also false start