Thesaurus results for UPSTART

upstart

noun

ˈəp-ˌstärt

Definition of upstart

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of upstart Andreessen Horowitz has poured billions into AI upstarts, including backing companies like coding startup Cursor, which was just acquired by SpaceX and voice AI company ElevenLabs. — Josh Sisco, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 Good luck drawing a crowd of that magnitude every other week via one of the digital upstarts. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 31 July 2026 Those accomplishments came at a time when Toronto was largely seen as a baseball upstart, which might have impacted the individual honors that Stieb won during his career, and in turn hurt his Hall of Fame case later on. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026 Featured were the young upstart Isaac Mizrahi, va-va-voom Italian Gianni Versace, the effusive Frenchman Christian Lacroix, and the Turkish eclectic Rifat Ozbek. — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for upstart

Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstart

Noun

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

Definition of arriviste

Noun

Their quest is complicated by Hampton Squib, an inexperienced and wildly underprepared adventurer whose dream of heroism far exceeds his abilities.

— Denise Petski, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
The goal, according to the museum, is to tell the story of Buffett not simply as a musician, but as a sailor, pilot, author, entrepreneur, adventurer, philanthropist and storyteller.

— SPIN Staff, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of adventurer

Noun

And all of this comes on the heels of the glitzy opening of the Six Senses Crans-Montana ski-in, ski-out resort, and the nouveau riche crowd that comes with it.

— Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes.com, 4 May 2026
Vandelli thinks Stilley is nouveau riche; Stilley thinks Vandelli is a bully.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 May 2026

Definition of nouveau riche

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upstanding

upstart

upstarts

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“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstart. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of upstart

noun

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