• Upstart

    Origin

    - + start

    Full definition of upstart

    Noun

    upstart

    (plural upstarts)
    1. One who has suddenly gained wealth, power, or other prominence, but either has not received social acceptance or has become arrogant or presumptuous.
      • 2006, w, Internal Combustion Chapter 1, But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.
      • 2012, June 29, Kevin Mitchell, Roger Federer back from Wimbledon 2012 brink to beat Julien Benneteau, Where the Czech upstart Rosol, ranked 100 in the world, all but blew Nadal's head off with his blunderbuss in a fifth set of unrivalled intensity on Thursday night, Benneteau, a more artful citizen, used a rapier to hurt his vaunted foe before falling just short of a kill. In the end, it was he who staggered from the scene of the fight.
    2. The meadow saffron.

    Adjective

    upstart
    1. self-important and presumptuous

    Verb

    1. to rise suddenly, to spring
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