startup

American  

[stahrt-uhp] / ˈstɑrtˌʌp /

Or start-up

noun

1. the act or fact of starting something; a setting in motion.

2. a new business venture, or a new commercial or industrial project.

   a small, 5-month-old internet startup.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the beginning of such a venture or project, especially to an investment made to initiate it.

   high start-up costs for construction of a new facility.

Etymology

Origin of startup

First recorded in 1550–60; noun use of verb phrase start up

Explanation

The word startup refers to either the process of beginning something or a new entrepreneurial business. The startup costs for your sister's startup might be higher than she thinks. Most startups offer their customers something innovative — a new product, like a dog toy that's truly indestructible, or an ingenious service, like a smartphone app that tells you where the closest public restrooms are. A startup begins with a great idea, is backed by investments of money, and is intended to grow very quickly — assuming it's successful.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

startup

The company said it is working with the target of the hack, AI startup Hugging Face, to investigate the incident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Last year’s debut of DeepSeek, an AI startup, was treated at home as a vindication of that narrative.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Buzzy startup Figure AI already assembles robots at its plant in San Jose, California, and Agility has a factory in Salem, Oregon, where it can produce up to 10,000 robots annually.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

But you don’t need access to startup shares to amass significant money in these accounts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

For more than a decade after its startup in 1905, the Defender advised southern blacks to stay put.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield