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
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Plainly, Miami was surprised by how Louisville came out, Cards coach Jeff Brohm one-up on Cristobal’s staff.
—Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
The Dutch driver was knocked out of the race, leaving Hamilton with the perfect opportunity to one-up his rival.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025
When Chase increased the rewards on its Sapphire Reserve Card in June, American Express tried to one-up its rival with a press release letting people know that upgrades to the Platinum Card were coming.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
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Verb
Rojas’ play in the ninth was fantastic, but then Andy Pages one-upped him with a leaping catch on Ernie Clement’s long drive to left-center while colliding with Kiké Hernández.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Plainly, Miami was surprised by how Louisville came out, Cards coach Jeff Brohm one-up on Cristobal’s staff.
—Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
The Dutch driver was knocked out of the race, leaving Hamilton with the perfect opportunity to one-up his rival.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025
When Chase increased the rewards on its Sapphire Reserve Card in June, American Express tried to one-up its rival with a press release letting people know that upgrades to the Platinum Card were coming.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
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 8 Nov. 2025.
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