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.

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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

They founded Deep Fission, a three-year-old California startup that has raised around $150 million in the past year, including $40 million last month through an initial public offering, largely to fund the work in Parsons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

French startup My Smart Book launched something similar in mid-April.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 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

Today, a family of models made by Chinese startup Z.AI is powering the company’s 1,400 agents, which costs around $100 per agent per day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

“It was a pharmaceutical startup in Toa Baja.”

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya