one-up

1 of 2

verb

ˌwən-ˈəp How to pronounce one-up (audio)
ˈwən-
one-upped; one-upping; one-ups

transitive verb

: to practice one-upmanship on

one up

2 of 2

adjective

: being in a position of advantage
usually used with on

Examples of one-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
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 In fact, a lot of these generative AI images are almost like one-up contests in that space, like who can do a better job of fabricating reality around a particular topic. Fortune Editors, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024 But there's one thing that's more important to Blake: one-upping her hubby in their never-ending troll-fest. Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024 Foldable smartphones remain an expensive market segment, mixing high performance, innovation, style, and a certain amount of manufacturers trying to one-up their competition. Ewan Spence, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 Be Consistent Parents often try to one-up each other after a split to win the kids’ affection. Michelle Dempsey-Multack, Parents, 30 Jan. 2024 Of all of the new stuff in the Framework Laptop 16, this is also the part that most obviously one-ups the experience of opening up the original Framework Laptop. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 Jan. 2024 All this results in a hotel that wows from the first impression and then one-ups itself at every turn. Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

back-formation from one-upmanship

First Known Use

Verb

1963, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of one-up was in 1919

Dictionary Entries Near one-up

Cite this Entry

“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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