up·start
ˈəp-ˌstärt 
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
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
John Towfighi, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
Going public would put SpaceX in the company of older, traditional aerospace heavyweights, such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and industry upstarts, such as Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 26 Dec. 2025
After lifting Indiana from improbable upstart to legitimate football powerhouse with his clutch play this season, Fernando Mendoza added another breakthrough to the Hoosiers’ remarkable rise.
—Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025
The president started his first term as an unpopular upstart succeeding a predecessor who left office with mediocre but stable approval ratings.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upstart
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Noun
Stocks tumbled in late January after Chinese tech upstart DeepSeek unveiled an AI chatbot that raised concerns Silicon Valley was pouring unnecessary amounts of money into AI companies.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
Going public would put SpaceX in the company of older, traditional aerospace heavyweights, such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and industry upstarts, such as Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 26 Dec. 2025
After lifting Indiana from improbable upstart to legitimate football powerhouse with his clutch play this season, Fernando Mendoza added another breakthrough to the Hoosiers’ remarkable rise.
—Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025
The president started his first term as an unpopular upstart succeeding a predecessor who left office with mediocre but stable approval ratings.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upstart
Cite this Entry
“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upstart. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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