Upstart

//ˈʌp.stɑːt// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who has suddenly gained wealth, power, or other prominence, but either has not received social acceptance or has become arrogant or presumptuous.

    "upstarts […]they call in reproach mushrooms"

  2. 2
    a gymnastic exercise performed starting from a position with the legs over the upper body and moving to an erect position by arching the back and swinging the legs out and down while forcing the chest upright wordnet
  3. 3
    The meadow saffron.
  4. 4
    a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class wordnet
  5. 5
    an arrogant or presumptuous person wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To rise suddenly, to spring

    "Th' Elfe therewith astownd, Upstarted lightly from his looser make, And his unready weapons gan in hand to take."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Acting like a parvenu.
  2. 2
    Self-important and presumptuous.
Adjective
  1. 1
    characteristic of someone who has risen economically or socially but lacks the social skills appropriate for this new position wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
nouveau richearrivistearrivisteparvenuparvenuadventurer

Example

More examples

"The upstart tried to pass for a man of culture."

Etymology

From Middle English upstarten, upsterten, equivalent to up- + start.

Related phrases

meadow saffronself important

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