What does "jumped-up" mean?

Thinking or acting as if one is superior, as by pretending to be of a higher class or having greater authority than is the case.

What is a synonym for "jumped-up"?

Common synonyms include: upjumped, upstart.

Jumped-up

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Thinking or acting as if one is superior, as by pretending to be of a higher class or having greater authority than is the case. derogatory, idiomatic
"2007, Nov 27. Scott Murray, writing in Guardian Unlimited: "Stuttgart 3-2 Rangers" We're doomed if this wee jumped-up monkey gets Gordon Smith's blessing."
2
Having risen from a lowly station or an inferior position, often with a conceited or arrogant attitude.
"1895, Punch, or the London Charivari, 24 August, 1895, "'Arry on Harry", https://books.google.ca/books?id=S5kwAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22jumped-up+cheap+Coventry%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s You jumped-up, cheap, Coventry bagman, / silk-sampling, no doubt, is your biz"

Adjective

1
(British informal) upstart wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

upjumped upstart

Example

More examples

"2007, Nov 27. Scott Murray, writing in Guardian Unlimited: "Stuttgart 3-2 Rangers" We're doomed if this wee jumped-up monkey gets Gordon Smith's blessing."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.