NOTCHING (UP) Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

notching (up)

verb

present participle of notch (up)

as in achieving

to obtain (as a goal) through effort a stunning performance that notched up a second Academy Award for the actor

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for notching (up)

Verb

In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, select images from Intimate Audrey offer a closer look at the star’s life outside the spotlight, from her childhood to tender moments with her own family after achieving superstardom.

— Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
So achieving old-fashioned summertime bliss is, and perhaps always has been, mostly a matter of privilege.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of achieving

Verb

Teams earned points by winning weekly head-to-head battles – tugging a sled across the field the fastest, surviving a heated game of dodgeball – and by simply doing the right thing.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Pinch-hitter Max Muncy crushed a three-run shot in the sixth inning to become the top home run hitter in Dodger Stadium history, but Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak ended with another concerning bullpen meltdown.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of winning

Verb

Financial firms are now gearing up to jump into the market in a different way, as executives like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and KKR's Waldemar Szlezak see AI equipment attaining familiar money-making characteristics.

— Kif Leswing, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026
One way to think about Mahler’s extravagant 90-minute exercise in his search for life’s meaning is as an exercise in attaining optimism in the face of tragedy.

— Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of attaining

Verb

Elisabeth Wright Burak, a policy researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, said Trump’s tax-and-spending law is stifling the momentum states had been gaining with maternal care since 2022.

— Andrew Jones, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
Large-city districts as a group did better, gaining 11 to 12 points.

— Michael Casserly, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of gaining

Verb

The Cubs have been relentless against lefties this season, and that pressure continued Wednesday with lefty Jackson Kent, a Lake Park graduate from Hanover Park, making his major-league debut for the Nationals.

— Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Her artistic work extends into visual illustration and fashion, with her tattoos and styling choices making her a distinctively individual presence in the group's lineup.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of making

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notching (up)

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“Notching (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notching%20%28up%29. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of notching (up)

verb

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