The invention relates to a starter (10) for an internal combustion engine, comprising a starter motor (12), which can be connected to a direct voltage network (30, 31) by means of a switching device (27). In order to improve the process of meshing a starter pinion (22) into a ring gear (26) of an internal combustion engine, it is proposed that the excitation winding (37) of the starter motor (12) be divided into several partial windings (a-f), which can optionally be connected to the direct voltage network (30, 31) by the switching device (27) in a staggered manner.