upstart

1 of 2

verb

up·​start ˌəp-ˈstärt How to pronounce upstart (audio)
upstarted; upstarting; upstarts

intransitive verb

: to jump up (as to one's feet) suddenly

upstart

2 of 2

noun

up·​start ˈəp-ˌstärt How to pronounce upstart (audio)
1
: one that has risen suddenly (as from a low position to wealth or power) : parvenu
especially : one that claims more personal importance than is warranted
2
: a start-up enterprise
upstart adjective

Examples of upstart in a Sentence

Noun a young upstart from Harvard who thinks he knows more than the boss having made their money in oil decades ago, they consider these billionaire dot-commers mere upstarts
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As the streaming field has grown crowded, upstarts have also stepped up their prices, especially for ad-free and stand-alone services. Dade Hayes, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2024 The collective pain of the A’s departure from Oakland still lingers for Forst and company, but their attention now turns towards the green and gold graduating from upstarts to contenders. Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024 Although 1999 was a particularly troublesome year for Diddy, his saga truly begins in the early '90s, when the 22-year-old upstart producer at Uptown Records organized an event that quickly went off the rails. Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024 Jeremy Strong Is on 2022's Time 100 List Strong, once an eager upstart, has arguably grown into the pretentiousness he’s been accused of in the past. Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for upstart 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'upstart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of upstart was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near upstart

Cite this Entry

“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upstart. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

upstart

noun
up·​start
ˈəp-ˌstärt
: a person who has risen suddenly (as from a low position to wealth or power)
especially : one who makes a great show of success

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