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Definition of upstart - 3 dictionary results
UpstartBooks
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up⋅start

  [n., adj. uhp-stahrt; v. uhp-stahrt]
Use upstart in a Sentence
–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
3. being, resembling, or characteristic of an upstart.
–verb (used without object)
4. to spring into existence or into view.
5. to start up; spring up, as to one's feet.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to start up.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME (v.); see up-, start

Related forms:
upstartness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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UpstartBooks
Make Learning Fun With Professional Resources From Upstart
HighSmith.com/UpstartBooks
up·start   (ŭp'stärt')   
n.  A person of humble origin who attains sudden wealth, power, or importance, especially one made immodest or presumptuous by the change; a parvenu.
adj.  

  1. Suddenly raised to a position of consequence.

  2. Self-important; presumptuous.

intr.v.   (ŭp-stärt') up·start·ed, up·start·ing, up·starts
To spring or start up suddenly.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

upstart  (n.)
1555, "one newly risen in importance or rank, a parvenu," also start-up, from up + start (v.) in the sense of "jump, spring, rise." Cf. the archaic verb upstart "to spring to one's feet," attested from 1303.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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