1Start (a car with a flat battery) with jump leads or by a sudden release of the clutch while the car is being pushed.

1. 1.1Give an added impetus to (something that is proceeding slowly or is at a standstill)
   ‘she suggests ways to jump-start the sluggish educational system’
   More example sentences

   • ‘These writers do not present the only way to jump-start our sluggish sense of wonder.’
   • ‘The terrorist attack blew a gaping hole in that landscape, but nothing else fundamental has changed in the city's economy - which suggests that a vigorous rebuilding would jump-start the area all over again.’
   • ‘I hope these suggestions will serve to jump-start the maintenance transformation process and provide a fundamental strategy for rethinking and reengineering Army maintenance.’
   • ‘Taking a skills clinic can jump-start your mountain-biking education by compressing a lot of information into one or a few days.’
   • ‘Chill cosmetics in the refrigerator to jump-start sluggish, hot skin.’
   • ‘This, of course, served to jump-start the local automobile industry.’
   • ‘Respondents report that they jump-start strategic initiatives by funding them above normal spending limits.’
   • ‘Brazil, Argentina and other countries in the region jump-started their economies with liberal economic policies.’
   • ‘Gnat came back from her trip supercharged in some odd way - a week with cousins, older cousins, jump-started some portion of her brain.’
   • ‘There's a push on in China to jump-start the semiconductor sector.’
   • ‘He said our role is not to jump-start your campaign and all of a sudden make you competitive.’
   • ‘The occasional high-rep set, however, is an excellent tool for jump-starting a stalled routine and turning up the heat on lukewarm muscles.’
   • ‘The removal of regulatory and other structural impediments to private sector investment could also play a big role in jump-starting the foreign investment drive.’
   • ‘In an effort to jump-start stalled talks, federal mediators have offered binding arbitration to Northwest Airlines and the company's mechanics.’
   • ‘The cut, which would be the Fed's ninth this year in its effort to jump-start a flagging economy, would push short-term rates to their lowest levels in nearly a decade.’
   • ‘The board also established new jobs for seasoned construction pros, including someone to jump-start its stalled and troubled school projects.’
   • ‘The chief of the Taiwan-based foundation visited China in October 1998 in an unsuccessful bid to jump-start the stalled dialogue.’
   • ‘We work in a very open environment to promote a free flow of communication, but this meeting really jump-starts it.’
   • ‘Good nutrition during that period really jump-starts the recovery process.’
   • ‘By cutting back once a month, perhaps as a way of jump-starting a healthier eating plan, you could rid yourself of a lifetime of excess calories.’

1An act of jump-starting a car.

1. 1.1An added impetus.
   ‘the stimulus package is intended to give the economy a jump-start’
   More example sentences

   • ‘And they all more or less got their jump-start as a result of the Native Federation of Alberta.’
   • ‘Proponents of the reform said it was needed to put the postal saving system's massive deposits into the hands of private investors and provide a strong jump-start to the economy.’
   • ‘Because the team was so bad, a number of young players got jump-starts on their careers.’
   • ‘Since I want to be fired up 100% of the time, a new perspective is always a great jump-start for me.’
   • ‘That means getting a jump-start for next year over the guys who are in it this year.’
   • ‘But she also hopes that the government - which authorized the work - will give them a jump-start financially as well.’
   • ‘A jump-start on a pro career makes sense - assuming there is a pro career, and this is the area where allowing high school players in the draft gets dicey.’
   • ‘The timing of this legislation could not have been better for the technology industry - an industry that is in dire need of a jump-start in spending.’
   • ‘That will give your preparer a jump-start on filing your return.’
   • ‘Get a jump-start on your competition with some pre-season cross-training.’
   • ‘To give the sweet peas a jump-start on the season, lightly scratch the seed coat with sandpaper and soak the seed in water overnight.’
   • ‘It relies on a 15-play script to give the game a jump-start, but that didn't happen in the first half.’
   • ‘The oxygen is designed to give skin that's tired and sallow a jump-start.’