as in to outdo
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Recent Examples of one-up
Later in the day, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani will try to one-up her as the most radical mayor in the US by burning two Old Glories in Times Square.
—
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
During one scene, Claire — in a desperate attempt to one-up a neighbor (Joan Chen), who gifted her a three-wick candle — shoplifts from Crate & Barrel and is chased through the mall and parking lot by an army of security guards.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025
Sure, any place full of people trying to network and one-up each other is basically a waking nightmare.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 24 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
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
During one scene, Claire — in a desperate attempt to one-up a neighbor (Joan Chen), who gifted her a three-wick candle — shoplifts from Crate & Barrel and is chased through the mall and parking lot by an army of security guards.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025
Sure, any place full of people trying to network and one-up each other is basically a waking nightmare.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 24 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
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for one-up
Verb
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Then again, who’s to say May won’t outdo him with more monster transfers?—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Not to be outdone by a property clearly inspired by George Lucas' space opera, LucasArts launched its own ambitious (and wildly successful) series of space sims.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The result is a fractured information ecosystem where virality matters more than truth, speed outruns verification and public understanding is shaped less by facts than by whoever captures attention first.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
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The logline we were given says that Anna is dealing with a huge loss and is trying to outrun her demons.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, consisting of 30 stocks, has a history of comfortably outpacing its benchmark, which includes all three indices—the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Over the past year, the price has climbed 83%, far outpacing a 14% jump in the S&P 500 during that period.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Bolts lead the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 72 points, five ahead of the B’s, who despite a 11-2-1 January have not been able to better their playoff position from the second wild-card spot.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
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Conte hit 93 points, a total bettered only by Mourinho in a debut Premier League season, as mentioned earlier.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Yapi created the opportunity by outracing Carlos Harvey down the left flank.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
11 Aug. 2025
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May was replaced by Anthony Banda, who was greeted with another two-run triple by Willy Adames (who had already homered to open the scoring in the second inning) and a run-scoring infield single from Lee, who outraced Banda to first base to punctuate a painfully long inning.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 July 2025
Verb
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The energy released in total can be millions of times that of a nova, enough to outshine an entire galaxy of billions of stars.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
22 Jan. 2026
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This portfolio has consistently outshined its benchmark—a composite of the S&P 500, Russell, and S&P MidCap indexes—and attained returns exceeding 105% since its inception.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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However, Qualcomm surpassed earnings and revenue expectations for the fiscal first quarter.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
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There is a chance Pasquantino can surpass Raleigh in 2026.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Elsewhere, the Gravel Running hybrid running shoe was studied for off-road explorations and mixed terrains, while the Sportstyle line arrayed emblematic designs and collaborations proving how Salomon transcended sports and performance to resonate also with a fashion audience.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
6 Feb. 2026
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The celebrity chef and host of nearly a dozen Food Network series understands better than anyone how his instantly recognizable look has over time transcended the realm of mere aesthetics to function more like branding, a walking logo.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/one-up. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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