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
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 5 May 2025
But the upstart wrestler is poised to run into one of the biggest challenges of her young career – go after a legendary competitor in Charlotte Flair.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Spark was an early investor in Twitter and counts upstart sports league operator Overtime, Slack and Discord among its portfolio of 50-odd businesses.
—Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Back in 2022, e-commerce giant and relative upstart movie studio Amazon promised to spend around $1 billion each year on theatrical releases, a figure that would fund between 12 and 15 films annually.
—Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for upstart
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Noun
Gerard Gallant Gallant excelled with a young group in Florida and with a bunch of upstarts during the nascent stages of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise, including their inaugural campaign that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 5 May 2025
But the upstart wrestler is poised to run into one of the biggest challenges of her young career – go after a legendary competitor in Charlotte Flair.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Spark was an early investor in Twitter and counts upstart sports league operator Overtime, Slack and Discord among its portfolio of 50-odd businesses.
—Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Back in 2022, e-commerce giant and relative upstart movie studio Amazon promised to spend around $1 billion each year on theatrical releases, a figure that would fund between 12 and 15 films annually.
—Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 1 May 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 24 May. 2025.
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