one-upped; one-upping; one-ups
: to practice one-upmanship on
: being in a position of advantage
—usually used with on
Examples of one-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
IEEE Spectrum, 13 May 2024
But what started as mere jabs at the other’s height and hair soon became something more sinister as each rapper tried to one-up the other.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 9 May 2024
On Princess Cruises’ 2026 world cruise, the line will one-up itself.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
But on Sunday night, Rhodes finally won the belt, one-upping Reigns’ backup from the Bloodline with his own: Seth Rollins, the Undertaker and John Cena.
—Shaheem Reid, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Based on the 2009 David Nicholls novel and one-upping the lackluster 2011 Anne Hathaway movie, this series has three major advantages over previous incarnations: Leo Woodall as Dexter, Ambika Mod as Emma, and the undeniable chemistry between them.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Chance one-upped his fellow coach by also singing the song with Nadége onstage; the surprise move helped Chance persuade the singer to join his team.
—USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Her Palm Royale character, Maxine, has elements of Wiig’s previous creations — an outsider yearning for acceptance, like Annie in Bridesmaids bursting into first class, or Penelope, the SNL character who constantly one-ups other people with absurd claims.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Leave it to method-dressing queen Margot Robbie to try and one-up her in a Mugler spring 1996 corset at the Oscars.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
Verb
But the Mercedes one-ups the Rivian by integrating a low-range gear reduction—a staple for any hardcore 4x4—that multiplies torque for rock crawling, dune bashing or other lower-speed situations.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 May 2024
But what started as mere jabs at the other’s height and hair soon became something more sinister as each rapper tried to one-up the other.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 9 May 2024
On Princess Cruises’ 2026 world cruise, the line will one-up itself.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
But on Sunday night, Rhodes finally won the belt, one-upping Reigns’ backup from the Bloodline with his own: Seth Rollins, the Undertaker and John Cena.
—Shaheem Reid, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Based on the 2009 David Nicholls novel and one-upping the lackluster 2011 Anne Hathaway movie, this series has three major advantages over previous incarnations: Leo Woodall as Dexter, Ambika Mod as Emma, and the undeniable chemistry between them.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Chance one-upped his fellow coach by also singing the song with Nadége onstage; the surprise move helped Chance persuade the singer to join his team.
—USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Her Palm Royale character, Maxine, has elements of Wiig’s previous creations — an outsider yearning for acceptance, like Annie in Bridesmaids bursting into first class, or Penelope, the SNL character who constantly one-ups other people with absurd claims.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Leave it to method-dressing queen Margot Robbie to try and one-up her in a Mugler spring 1996 corset at the Oscars.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'one-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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