as in powerhouse
an ambitious person who eagerly goes after what is desired
hired a self-starter who instantly saw what needed to be done, and did it
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Recent Examples of self-starter
The company introduced patent technologies, such as, the electric self-starter, mass production breakthroughs, and automatic transmissions – making modern transportation accessible.
—
CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Builders epitomize attributes like risk taking, a sense of agency and a self-starter attitude, says Ritterbush.
—Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 20 Nov. 2025
Creative people who are self-starters are going to be fine.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
Some people are self-starters, while others require very clear guidelines and goals.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
These self-starters are American citizens, immigrants living in the country legally and illegally, and are part of a $504-million industry in L.A., according to estimates from the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit public policy research organization.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025
Many young self-starters like Chea long viewed the tech industry, with its gaudy salaries, legendary perks, nimble management and sprawling campuses, as a sort of professional wonderland.
—Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Nov. 2024
CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Builders epitomize attributes like risk taking, a sense of agency and a self-starter attitude, says Ritterbush.
—Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 20 Nov. 2025
Creative people who are self-starters are going to be fine.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
Some people are self-starters, while others require very clear guidelines and goals.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
These self-starters are American citizens, immigrants living in the country legally and illegally, and are part of a $504-million industry in L.A., according to estimates from the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit public policy research organization.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025
Many young self-starters like Chea long viewed the tech industry, with its gaudy salaries, legendary perks, nimble management and sprawling campuses, as a sort of professional wonderland.
—Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-starter
powerhouse
Noun
-
And those figures are boosted by players who may not hail from power conferences but certainly played for college powerhouses.—
Arnie Stapleton,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Netflix‘s new comedy Big Mistakes, created by the powerhouse duo of Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott, is surely a direct heir to Weeds and one that will probably at least interest viewers who watched Killing It and Deli Boys and Sunny Nights.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-starter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-starter. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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