as in arriviste
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
having made their money in oil decades ago, they consider these billionaire dot-commers mere upstarts
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upstart
Private equity swooped in for many, snatching up mattress company Casper, athleisure brand Outdoor Voices, women’s fashion upstart Reformation and jewelry retailer Catbird.
—
Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 18 May 2026
And another launch upstart, Rocket Lab, is trying to nab smaller launch contracts that previously would have gone to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 with its own Electron and soon-to-debut Neutron rockets.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 4 May 2026
That was until this Dutch upstart with his European aesthetic, lively and colorful stores and eye-popping marketing campaigns began to chisel away at their market share.
—Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
Not to be confused with German tiny camper van builder Alpincamper, Switzerland's Alpencamper is a small upstart dedicated to bicycle camping trailers.
—C.c. Weiss
may 01, New Atlas, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 18 May 2026
And another launch upstart, Rocket Lab, is trying to nab smaller launch contracts that previously would have gone to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 with its own Electron and soon-to-debut Neutron rockets.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 4 May 2026
That was until this Dutch upstart with his European aesthetic, lively and colorful stores and eye-popping marketing campaigns began to chisel away at their market share.
—Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
Not to be confused with German tiny camper van builder Alpincamper, Switzerland's Alpencamper is a small upstart dedicated to bicycle camping trailers.
—C.c. Weiss
may 01, New Atlas, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstart
Noun
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And yet, the digital arrivistes could only gain so much traction with a broader customer base and needed a boost from tie-ins with old-school counterparts.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.—
Kevin Mahnken,
The New Republic,
1 Sep. 2020
-
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.—
Saritha Rai,
Fortune,
29 July 2019
Noun
-
Eliastam was met by fellow adventurer Andy Dorantes and members of ALE.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
-
Around that time, a celebrity biologist and adventurer named Robert Marc Lehmann showed up in a gray-camouflage wetsuit.—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
Vandelli thinks Stilley is nouveau riche; Stilley thinks Vandelli is a bully.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Emulation of upper-crust speech norms became popular among the nouveau riche.—
Valerie M. Fridland,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstart. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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