nonstarter
noun
nonstarter is spelled N-O-N-S-T-A-R-T-E-R: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nonstarter means “A project that has no chance of success” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nonstarter is nonstarters.
How many letters and syllables are in nonstarter?
| Letters | 10: N-O-N-S-T-A-R-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nonstarter?
Nonstarter appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nonstarter?
Nonstarter has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of nonstarter
- nonstarters plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nonstarter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A project that has no chance of success.
- 2
A horse that does not run in a race for which it has been entered.
- 3
A loser; a person who is bound to fail.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nonstarter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a project that has no chance of success:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | inviabilidad, infactibilidad, imposibilidad, irrealizabilidad, inasequibilidad, impracticabilidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nonstarter come from?
From non- + starter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).