upstart

[uhp-stahrt, uhp-stahrt]

noun

1. a person who has risen suddenly from a humble position to wealth, power, or a position of consequence.

2. a presumptuous and objectionable person who has so risen; parvenu.

adjective

1. being, resembling, or characteristic of an upstart.

verb (used without object)

1. to spring into existence or into view.

2. to start up; spring up, as to one's feet.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to start up.

upstart

noun

1. 1. a person, group, etc, that has risen suddenly to a position of power or wealth

   2. ( as modifier )

      an upstart tyrant

      an upstart family

2. 1. an arrogant or presumptuous person

   2. ( as modifier )

      his upstart ambition

verb

1. archaic,  (intr) to start up, as in surprise, etc

Other Word Forms

• upstartness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of upstart¹

1275–1325; Middle English (v.); up-, start

Example Sentences

The upstart Houston Rockets saw their point guard get hurt during the offseason, so they simply decided to use a starting lineup without one.

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After Pericles’ death from plague in 429 B.C., rhetorical and political authority is seized by Cleon, an upstart demagogue who is the “most violent person in Athens” and “the most persuasive.”

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As soon as he joined the controversial upstart league, Norman became the public face of Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar effort to lure many of the world’s best golfers away from the PGA Tour.

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Its shoppers have been put off by its relatively high prices compared with competitors like Walmart or online upstarts such as Temu and Shein, a dynamic that has been hard to overcome as inflation rises.

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The partnership also highlights how AI upstarts like Anthropic are diversifying to ensure they have as much cloud capacity and compute power at a time when both are in short supply.

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