up the ante
idiom
1
: to raise the cost or price
The popular actor first demanded twice the salary offered him but then kept upping the ante.
2
: to increase the risk or possible harm that could result from something
—often + on
The new law ups the ante on people who cheat on their taxes.
3
: to set a higher standard or goal
—often + on
The film ups the ante on special effects.
Examples of up the ante in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Restraint might encourage Israel to up the ante, forcing Iran’s hand at a later date.
—
Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
To up the ante, Waters’ renegade film called for three 8mm projectors running simultaneously, the images stacked one on top of another.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Our testers confirmed these have an extremely comfortable fit, sitting just below the natural waist and featuring a little bit of stretch to up the ante.
—Olivia Muenter, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
But after protesting at Real Food Daily’s locations for a while, Gallegos decided to up the ante.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Plus, the All-Clad can up the ante even more with a high-speed Turbo button,.
—Megan Wahn, Bon Appétit, 9 Feb. 2024
Players can also up the ante with inventions like the Fire Pipe, a flamethrower-like piece of ancient technology.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
He's since pledged to up the ante, with a goal of tasting at least 150 cakes and visiting more than 100 bakeries.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2024
Slow Horses seems determined to up the ante a bit for its third outing.
—J. Oliver Conroy, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024
Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
To up the ante, Waters’ renegade film called for three 8mm projectors running simultaneously, the images stacked one on top of another.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Our testers confirmed these have an extremely comfortable fit, sitting just below the natural waist and featuring a little bit of stretch to up the ante.
—Olivia Muenter, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
But after protesting at Real Food Daily’s locations for a while, Gallegos decided to up the ante.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Plus, the All-Clad can up the ante even more with a high-speed Turbo button,.
—Megan Wahn, Bon Appétit, 9 Feb. 2024
Players can also up the ante with inventions like the Fire Pipe, a flamethrower-like piece of ancient technology.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
He's since pledged to up the ante, with a goal of tasting at least 150 cakes and visiting more than 100 bakeries.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2024
Slow Horses seems determined to up the ante a bit for its third outing.
—J. Oliver Conroy, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'up the ante.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near up the ante
Cite this Entry
“Up the ante.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up%20the%20ante. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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