as in arrivistes
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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Recent Examples of upstarts
There are a number of firms getting in on the action, including big familiar names and plucky upstarts.
—
New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2026
The concern is that the AI native upstarts, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, will increasingly disintermediate the relationship those big SaaS providers have with their customers and will obviate the need for these customers to upgrade to the AI agent offerings the SaaS giants themselves are offering.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Around 2015, upstarts like Chobani or BodyArmor began stealing market share from legacy brands.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026
By contrast, upstarts like Comulate are eager to position themselves as the AI-native disruptors that can rapidly improve user experience.
—John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Crawford and Sandoval are both established MLB veterans who missed all of last season due to injuries, while Early, Tolle and Harrison are promising upstarts still looking to establish themselves as big leaguers.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
All of this has left room for upstarts such as Douglas Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a growing network of more than 150 Christian-nationalist congregations.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
YouTube in particular has become the home in many ways for late night, with both the network shows and wholly original digital upstarts battling for their share of the conversation.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
Major college football has long been a uniquely hostile sport for upstarts.
—Jason Kirk, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2026
The concern is that the AI native upstarts, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, will increasingly disintermediate the relationship those big SaaS providers have with their customers and will obviate the need for these customers to upgrade to the AI agent offerings the SaaS giants themselves are offering.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Around 2015, upstarts like Chobani or BodyArmor began stealing market share from legacy brands.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026
By contrast, upstarts like Comulate are eager to position themselves as the AI-native disruptors that can rapidly improve user experience.
—John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Crawford and Sandoval are both established MLB veterans who missed all of last season due to injuries, while Early, Tolle and Harrison are promising upstarts still looking to establish themselves as big leaguers.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
All of this has left room for upstarts such as Douglas Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a growing network of more than 150 Christian-nationalist congregations.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
YouTube in particular has become the home in many ways for late night, with both the network shows and wholly original digital upstarts battling for their share of the conversation.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
Major college football has long been a uniquely hostile sport for upstarts.
—Jason Kirk, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstarts
arrivistes
Noun
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Upstarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstarts. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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