D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Self-starter

· Self·-start·er · IPA
01 n. A mechanism (usually one operated by electricity, compressed air, a spring, or an explosive gas), attached to an internal-combustion engine…
  1. 1.
    A mechanism (usually one operated by electricity, compressed air, a spring, or an explosive gas), attached to an internal-combustion engine, as on an automobile, and used as a means of starting the engine without cranking it by hand; -- called also a starter. Also: starter