upstart
Americannoun
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a person who has risen suddenly from a humble position to wealth, power, or a position of consequence.
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a presumptuous and objectionable person who has so risen; parvenu.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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to spring into existence or into view.
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to start up; spring up, as to one's feet.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person, group, etc, that has risen suddenly to a position of power or wealth
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( as modifier )
an upstart tyrant
an upstart family
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an arrogant or presumptuous person
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( as modifier )
his upstart ambition
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verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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upstartsimple
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upstartssimple
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have upstartedperfect
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has upstartedperfect
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am upstartingprogressive
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are upstartingprogressive
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is upstartingprogressive
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have been upstartingperfect progressive
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has been upstartingperfect progressive
Past
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upstartedsimple
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had upstartedperfect
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was upstartingprogressive
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were upstartingprogressive
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had been upstartingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of upstart
Explanation
An upstart is someone who's cocky and arrogant, and who doesn't show much respect for other people. There are many ways of starting up trouble — one is by being an upstart. Upstarts are people who are full of themselves and dismissive of others. Often, an upstart is a young person or newcomer. A new employee who acts like he knows more than everyone else is an upstart. An arrogant rookie on a sports team is an upstart. In the 1500s, upstart and start-up were both used to mean the same thing, "one newly risen in importance."
Vocabulary lists containing upstart
Hamilton
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Recall that a young upstart by the name of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated New York Rep. Joseph Crowley, a powerful 10-term incumbent and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
The company came out of hiding in April 2025, positioning itself as a scrappy upstart laser-focused on keeping costs contained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Across the state, there were other races with upstart contenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The trend spans from Ford Motor, which announced a new battery storage division in May, to Fluence Energy, an upstart battery-maker collaborating with Nvidia.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The design-software company has struggled to convince investors that its pricing model and artificial-intelligence offerings are enough to compete with cheaper upstarts, and Bank of America’s Tal Liani isn’t optimistic that sentiment will change.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The man who shockingly demoted then-24-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa in favor of a more experienced player prior to the 2010 World Cup was now relying on upstarts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
To compete with the upstarts, DraftKings and its closest competitor, Flutter-owned FanDuel, each launched their own prediction markets—no small undertaking.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
The changes are even more pronounced in primary care: Nearly half of doctors’ offices are now private, and tech upstarts are disrupting the sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Masters of power politics, engineers of genius, the Mexica were also upstarts and pretenders, arrivistes who falsely claimed a brilliant line of descent.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
In an industry where guerrilla tactics pay off, Kahn upstarted the upstarts.
From Time Magazine Archive
Further inside the heart of the city upstarted the intoxications of sin and the terrible beggars with their maimed children.
From Memories of Hawthorne by Lathrop, Rose Hawthorne
And the hard rocks upstarted From the sand make the couch where he lies, Thy Krishna, sad-hearted.
From Indian Poetry Containing "The Indian Song of Songs," from the Sanskrit of the Gîta Govinda of Jayadeva, Two books from "The Iliad Of India" (Mahábhárata), "Proverbial Wisdom" from the Shlokas of the Hitopadesa, and other Oriental Poems. by Arnold, Edwin, Sir
Roused at one call, upstarted from one bed, Press’d in one crowd, appall’d with one amaze, He turns them o’er, Eternity! to thee.
From Young's Night Thoughts With Life, Critical Dissertation and Explanatory Notes by Young, Edward
Instantly upstarted Lyubim Tsarevich, put on his armour, and leaped upon his steed.
From The Russian Garland being Russian Folk Tales by Rosciszewski, J. R. de
The thrush, upstarting in the distant dell, Shook its brown wing, with golden streaks array’d, And ap’d the witch-notes, as they rose and fell.
From Romantic Ballads, Translated from the Danish; and Miscellaneous Pieces by Borrow, George Henry
It was the signal for a general upstarting from the table, a pushing back of chairs, a gathering around Elizabeth Cornish.
From Black Jack by Brand, Max
Hand-clappings, cheers, a stirring of the crowd, and the upstarting of the brass band climaxed the rhetorical peroration, and Elsa glanced anxiously over her shoulder.
From The King of Arcadia by Lynde, Francis
Presently that clownish person, upstarting, desired that adventure: whereat the Queene much wondering, and the lady much gainesaying, yet he earnestly importuned his desire.
From Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Eliot, Charles William
The little barefooted guide, the sick woman with her 'young goodness' and 'your ladyship,' now this upstarting knight.
From Wych Hazel by Warner, Susan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
