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
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
The Ducks may still be seen as an upstart in these playoffs, but there was no question who was the better team.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
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Noun
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
The Ducks may still be seen as an upstart in these playoffs, but there was no question who was the better team.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
Cite this Entry
“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upstart. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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