diff --git a/crates/nu-parser/src/parser.rs b/crates/nu-parser/src/parser.rs
index a251683362..49280dacc6 100644
--- a/crates/nu-parser/src/parser.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-parser/src/parser.rs
@@ -4040,7 +4040,6 @@ pub fn parse_operator(
         b">" => Operator::GreaterThan,
         b">=" => Operator::GreaterThanOrEqual,
         b"=~" => Operator::RegexMatch,
-        b"=^" => Operator::StartsWith,
         b"!~" => Operator::NotRegexMatch,
         b"+" => Operator::Plus,
         b"-" => Operator::Minus,
@@ -4049,6 +4048,7 @@ pub fn parse_operator(
         b"in" => Operator::In,
         b"not-in" => Operator::NotIn,
         b"mod" => Operator::Modulo,
+        b"starts-with" => Operator::StartsWith,
         b"&&" | b"and" => Operator::And,
         b"||" | b"or" => Operator::Or,
         b"**" => Operator::Pow,
diff --git a/crates/nu-protocol/src/ast/operator.rs b/crates/nu-protocol/src/ast/operator.rs
index 9e18683ab3..72a6d0f82e 100644
--- a/crates/nu-protocol/src/ast/operator.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-protocol/src/ast/operator.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ impl Display for Operator {
             Operator::Pow => write!(f, "**"),
             Operator::LessThanOrEqual => write!(f, "<="),
             Operator::GreaterThanOrEqual => write!(f, ">="),
-            Operator::StartsWith => write!(f, "=^"),
+            Operator::StartsWith => write!(f, "starts-with"),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/tests/test_parser.rs b/src/tests/test_parser.rs
index a956950b6c..56481704b2 100644
--- a/src/tests/test_parser.rs
+++ b/src/tests/test_parser.rs
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ fn capture_row_condition() -> TestResult {
 #[test]
 fn starts_with_operator_succeeds() -> TestResult {
     run_test(
-        r#"[Moe Larry Curly] | where $it =^ L | str collect"#,
+        r#"[Moe Larry Curly] | where $it starts-with L | str collect"#,
         "Larry",
     )
 }