ante

noun an·te \ ˈan-tē \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: ante in a Sentence

Definition of ante

1 : a poker stake usually put up before the deal to build the pot

The dealer called for a dollar ante.

2 a : cost, price

These improvements would raise the ante.

b : risk, stakes

The new law ups the ante on tax cheats.

c : a level (as of achievement or intensity) regarded especially as a goal or standard

a film that ups the ante on special effects

See ante defined for English-language learners

Examples of ante in a Sentence

the base price is 0, but any additional repairs will up the ante

Recent Examples of ante from the Web

Five states and Washington, D.C. upped the ante and won’t sell e-cigarettes to anyone under 21.

— emilie ikeda, Fox News, "E-cigarettes ubiquitous at schools despite all efforts: 'You won't find a kid in Georgia who hasn't vaped before'," 7 June 2018
Trump then upped the ante, threatening to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods.

— Fortune, "China Strikes Back at Trump's 'Flip-Flop' on Tariffs as Trade Spat Heats Up," 30 May 2018
Someone really upped the ante with a bevy of beverage comparisons.

— ashley hoffman, Time, "People Think Pippa Middleton's Dress Looks Eerily Like an Arizona Iced Tea Can," 19 May 2018
Liverpool's attack upped the ante to show their true ruthlessness.

— SI.com, "Roma 4-2 Liverpool: Reds Survive Rome Scare to Reach UCL Final Despite Dramatic Loss," 2 May 2018
Trudeau’s government upped the ante this week, with Finance Minister Bill Morneau pledging to indemnify the C$7.4 billion ($5.8 billion) project for politically motivated delays and backstop any company willing to take it on.

— michael bellusci, Bloomberg.com, "For Sale: Stalled Pipeline Project, Protesters Included," 18 May 2018
While dealing with allergies is flat-out terrible, having allergies that can cause an asthma attack ups the ante in a pretty scary way.

— korin miller, SELF, "5 Facts About Allergic Asthma, Which Is Just the Worst," 11 May 2018
The Heat already had fined Hassan, so why up the ante in such fashion?

— ira winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "ASK IRA: Can Heat get Whiteside, Dragic to opt out in 2019?," 2 May 2018
The severed ties between union and bank ups the ante in efforts to change businesses' policies toward gun makers and retailers since the Florida high school massacre.

— nathan bomey, USA TODAY, "Exclusive: Wells Fargo loses teachers union AFT over ties to NRA, guns," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ante.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ante

borrowed from Latin ante "before, preceding" — more at ante-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1821

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

ante Synonyms

Synonyms

charge, cost, damage, fee, figure, freight, price, price tag;

Related Words

market value, valuation, value;

asking price, list price, sticker price;

price point, rate, tariff, unit price;

carrying charge, overcharge, service charge (also service fee), surcharge;

account, bill, check, invoice, tab;

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

ante

verb

Definition of ante

anted; anteing

transitive verb

: to put up (an ante); also : pay, produce —usually used with up

had to ante up five thousand dollars to attend the senator's banquet

intransitive verb

: pay up —usually used with up

The dealer waited until everyone had anted up before he dealt the cards.

See ante defined for English-language learners

Examples of ante in a Sentence

Did everyone at the table ante?
Everyone anted up a dollar.

Recent Examples of ante from the Web

The plan then is to double down on speed with the offense, while attempting to ante up with toughness on defense.

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Decoding the overhauled Chiefs, and Brett Veach's first offseason | The Kansas City Star," 5 May 2018
The other participants have got to ante up and this is their neighborhood.

— Fox News, "Gowdy and Scott on Mueller probe, new book," 3 Apr. 2018
Se habían reunido para pescar a lo largo del Eau Gallie Causeway dos días antes del cumpleaños 25 de Viccaro.

— erika pasantes y john maines, El Sentinel, "Tendencia mortal: Textear y manejar. Aumentan accidentes," 6 Feb. 2018
The process meant tracking down property owners, anteing up cash to buy the homes and renovate and finding stable renters who, in some cases, turned into homeowners.

— aleanna siacon, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit's Virginia Park Historic District gets house-by-house makeover," 14 Apr. 2018
Lo and behold, Little Caesars had to ante up when the UMBC Retrievers beat the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54 on March 16.

— brandon patterson, Detroit Free Press, "Lines gather for free pizza at Little Caesars in Dearborn, Detroit," 2 Apr. 2018
Facebook and an additional four of the state’s biggest businesses — Google, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T — have already anted up $200,000 apiece to fight the initiative.

— matier & ross, San Francisco Chronicle, "Facebook fiasco boosts bid to put California crackdown on ballot," 1 Apr. 2018
Carried over from the current RAV4, the Adventure ups the truck ante further with larger tires and a different front bumper and grille design seemingly yanked right off the Tacoma pickup.

— alexander stoklosa, Car and Driver, "2019 Toyota RAV4 / RAV4 Hybrid: Sales Champ Gets a Compelling Overhaul," 29 Mar. 2018
But Jacksonville was surprisingly willing to ante up.

— mike jones, USA TODAY, "Quarterbacks, wide receivers and a guard are NFL free agency's early winners," 13 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of ante

verbal derivative of ¹ante

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1831

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

ante-

prefix

Definition of ante-

1 a : prior : earlier

antedate

b : anterior : forward

anteroom

2 : prior to : earlier than

antediluvian

See ante- defined for English-language learners

See ante- defined for kids

Origin and Etymology of ante-

Middle English, from Latin, from ante before, in front of; akin to Old English and- against, Greek anti before, against — more at end

ANTE Defined for English Language Learners

ante

noun

Definition of ante for English Language Learners

: the amount of money that a player must bet at the beginning of play in a poker game

ante

verb

Definition of ante for English Language Learners

: to pay the amount of money required to start play in a poker game

ante-

prefix

Definition of ante- for English Language Learners

: before or earlier
: in front of

ANTE Defined for Kids

ante-

prefix \ ˈan-ti \

Definition of ante- for Students

1 : before in time : earlier

2 : in front of

anteroom

Learn More about ante

See words that rhyme with ante Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ante Spanish Central: Translation of ante Nglish: Translation of ante for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ante for Arabic speakers

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ante

Definition of ante

Examples of ante in a Sentence

Recent Examples of ante from the Web

Origin and Etymology of ante

ante Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Game Terms

ante

Definition of ante

Examples of ante in a Sentence

Recent Examples of ante from the Web

Origin and Etymology of ante

Other Game Terms

ante-

Definition of ante-

Origin and Etymology of ante-

Phrases Related to ANTE

Related Phrases

ANTE Defined for English Language Learners

ante

Definition of ante for English Language Learners

ante

Definition of ante for English Language Learners

ante-

Definition of ante- for English Language Learners

ANTE Defined for Kids

ante-

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