one-upped; one-upping; one-ups
: to practice one-upmanship on
always trying to one-up each other by buying the latest gadgets
: being in a position of advantage
—usually used with on
He finished his assignment early, which put him one up on me.
Examples of one-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
One of my favorite scenes is when your characters are one-upping each other while doing a toast.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 24 Feb. 2026
View gallery - 5 images For those of us who weren't paying attention, over the last few years, scientists around the world have been one-upping each other in a bid to create the smallest QR code that can be reliably read.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 20 Feb. 2026
Maybe to one-up John Cage and his infamous four minutes, thirty-three seconds of silence, Sun Ra had composed a piece for a band that never comes.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
In the novel, Amanda and Oliver attempt to get Eloise to leave by way of some nasty pranks, but Book Eloise remains undeterred and, in fact, loves the challenge of trying to both one-up and win over the twins.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
One of my favorite scenes is when your characters are one-upping each other while doing a toast.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 24 Feb. 2026
View gallery - 5 images For those of us who weren't paying attention, over the last few years, scientists around the world have been one-upping each other in a bid to create the smallest QR code that can be reliably read.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 20 Feb. 2026
Maybe to one-up John Cage and his infamous four minutes, thirty-three seconds of silence, Sun Ra had composed a piece for a band that never comes.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
