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startup

/ˈstɑɹtˌʌp/noun

startup is spelled S-T-A-R-T-U-P: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “start-up vs startup” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, startup means “The act or process of starting a process or machine” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of startup is startups.

How many letters and syllables are in startup?

Letters7: S-T-A-R-T-U-P
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is startup?

Startup appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce startup?

  • US /ˈstɑɹtˌʌp/
  • US [ˈstɑɹɾˌʌp]

As a noun (“A kind of high-low or thigh-high boot worn by rustic people”): /ˈstɑːtəp/, /ˈstɑɹtˌʌp/, [ˈstɑɹɾˌʌp].

Startup has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-startup.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with startup

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

start-up vs startup70 G

Also written: start-up (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with startup?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as startup (/ɑɹtʌp/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: upstart.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of startup

  • startups plural
  • start-up

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does startup mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The act or process of starting a process or machine.

  2. 2

    A new company or organization or business venture designed for rapid growth.

  3. 3

    A folder (especially in Windows), containing shortcuts of applications or programs that start up automatically after a user signs in.

    Add an app to run automatically at startup in Windows 10, Microsoft Support 3. With the file location open, press the Windows logo key + R, type shell:startup, then select OK. This opens the Startup folder. / 4. Copy and paste the shortcut

  4. 4

    obsoleteA kind of high-low or thigh-high boot worn by rustic people.

  5. 5

    obsoleteA kind of gaiter or legging.

  6. 6

    obsoleteOne who comes suddenly into notice; an upstart.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Startup in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmise en route, mise en train (act or process of starting a process or machine), startup, jeune pousse (new company or organization or business venture)
GermanInbetriebnahme (act or process of starting a process or machine), Jungunternehmen, Startup (new company or organization or business venture)
Portugueseinicialização, arranque (act or process of starting a process or machine), startup, start-up (new company or organization or business venture)
Spanisharranque (act or process of starting a process or machine), empresa emergente (new company or organization or business venture)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does startup come from?

Deverbal from start up.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after startup