one-upmanship
noun
one-up·man·ship
ˌwən-ˈəp-mən-ˌship 
variants
or less commonly one-upsmanship
: the art or practice of outdoing or keeping one jump ahead of a friend or competitor
engaged in a round of verbal one-upmanship
Examples of one-upmanship in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Having failed to secure a ticket, I was taunted with pitying one-upmanship by acquaintances who had had more success.
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
What proceeds is an escalating pattern of one-upmanship and sabotage, with each trying to best the other for personal reasons more than professional ones.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
Hundreds of recent statutes, executive actions, and regulations seem to play a game of one-upmanship in which states try to find ways to be even more cruel.
—Darren Rosenblum, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026
The drone displays and Minion cameos and technological one-upmanship that has defined this event in the 2020s were not the focus this time.
—Judy Berman, Time, 7 Feb. 2026
Young ideologues compete to prove their fealty to MAGA by engaging in a kind of transgressive one-upmanship.
—Laura K. Field, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Choose kindness over cleverness, warmth over wit, empathy over one-upmanship.
—Glenn Kurlander, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Except, when the rehearsals start in earnest and boys enter the duo’s orbit in after-school adventures, their already off-balance dual existence and sneaky one-upmanship worsens.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 24 Jan. 2026
Hosting duties became a game of high-stakes one-upmanship.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 7 Jan. 2026
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Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
What proceeds is an escalating pattern of one-upmanship and sabotage, with each trying to best the other for personal reasons more than professional ones.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
Hundreds of recent statutes, executive actions, and regulations seem to play a game of one-upmanship in which states try to find ways to be even more cruel.
—Darren Rosenblum, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026
The drone displays and Minion cameos and technological one-upmanship that has defined this event in the 2020s were not the focus this time.
—Judy Berman, Time, 7 Feb. 2026
Young ideologues compete to prove their fealty to MAGA by engaging in a kind of transgressive one-upmanship.
—Laura K. Field, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Choose kindness over cleverness, warmth over wit, empathy over one-upmanship.
—Glenn Kurlander, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Except, when the rehearsals start in earnest and boys enter the duo’s orbit in after-school adventures, their already off-balance dual existence and sneaky one-upmanship worsens.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 24 Jan. 2026
Hosting duties became a game of high-stakes one-upmanship.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“One-upmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-upmanship. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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