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
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2025
The old girl one-upped a 42-year-old trout found in 1998 in Lake Superior.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
But arch-rival MediaTek may one-up Qualcomm by unveiling its Dimensity 9500 flagship chipset a day earlier on September 22.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Don’t entertain or try to one-up toxicity.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
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Verb
Matthew eventually one-ups the request by losing his boxers as well and going full Winnie the Pooh, which earns him the respect of his fellow suck-ups.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2025
The old girl one-upped a 42-year-old trout found in 1998 in Lake Superior.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
But arch-rival MediaTek may one-up Qualcomm by unveiling its Dimensity 9500 flagship chipset a day earlier on September 22.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Don’t entertain or try to one-up toxicity.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 7 Aug. 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 16 Sep. 2025.
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