one-upped; one-upping; one-ups
: to practice one-upmanship on
: being in a position of advantage
—usually used with on
Examples of one-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2024
The offense and defense took turns one-upping each other, but ultimately, head coach Dave Canales — an offensive-minded teacher — admitted defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit won the final stretch of the day.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 26 July 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris may be one-upping you ‒ at voter registration anyway.
—Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 26 July 2024
In Season 2, your ex-husband, played by Adam Scott, builds a rocket and attempts to go to space, sort of to impress his ex-wife but also to one-up her.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for one-up 
Verb
Only one thing left for the rookie lefty to do after Webb tossed one shutout and Snell one-upped him with a no-hitter.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2024
The offense and defense took turns one-upping each other, but ultimately, head coach Dave Canales — an offensive-minded teacher — admitted defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit won the final stretch of the day.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 26 July 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris may be one-upping you ‒ at voter registration anyway.
—Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 26 July 2024
In Season 2, your ex-husband, played by Adam Scott, builds a rocket and attempts to go to space, sort of to impress his ex-wife but also to one-up her.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for one-up
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.
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Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 8 Sep. 2024.
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