as in to outdo
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Recent Examples of one-up
But the answer isn’t for Republicans to one-up those efforts with their own election-rigging measure.
—
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
Kyle is just outing herself as a gossip and is distorting what everyone has to say to try to one-up Dorit in her own life.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
Network correspondents scramble to one-up each other.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
Maybe to one-up John Cage and his infamous four minutes, thirty-three seconds of silence, Sun Ra had composed a piece for a band that never comes.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
Kyle is just outing herself as a gossip and is distorting what everyone has to say to try to one-up Dorit in her own life.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
Network correspondents scramble to one-up each other.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
Maybe to one-up John Cage and his infamous four minutes, thirty-three seconds of silence, Sun Ra had composed a piece for a band that never comes.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for one-up
Verb
-
The sisters’ mission involves a dangerous and violent road trip; the fierce Racine outdoes the sensitive Anaia in her bloodlust, and the drama, reminiscent of classical tragedy, resounds with mythopoetic overtones.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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This time around, the Flagstaff builder outdoes itself on both fronts with a pop-up camping topper sized to a 1980 Mini 95 pickup, creating a camping truck that sizes comparably to a Japanese kei camper.—
C.C. Weiss
May 12,
New Atlas,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Beth and Carter manage to grab a few valuables and load the horses into a trailer, while Rip cuts the property's fences to give their cattle a chance to outrun the flames.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
-
Not lies; language that outran its own foundation.—
Kathleen Lucente,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
His thoughts tend to outpace his ability to articulate them in a first pass.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
Producer prices growth in April outpaced consumer price gains for the first time since July 2022, with OCBC's Xie suggesting companies will absorb a large part of the commodity shock rather than pass it fully to consumers.—
Anniek Bao,Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Skelton, who four years earlier had won team jumping gold at London 2012, became the second-oldest British Olympic champion, his feat bettered only by Joshua Millner, who won shooting gold in London in 1908, aged 61.—
Danielle Rossingh,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Maybe that is a bit of a distraction from what the end goal actually is, which is to better the supply chain.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Yapi created the opportunity by outracing Carlos Harvey down the left flank.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
11 Aug. 2025
-
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
-
In Game 6, Stephon Castle outshined Wembanyama with a game-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
Wednesday Cramer expects Lowe's, which reports in the morning, to potentially outshine Home Depot given its greater exposure to do-it-yourself consumers in a weak housing market.—
Alexa LoMonaco,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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In Year 3, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in attendance in a single season for the first time.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Earlier this month, the seventy-seven-year-old Thomas became the second-longest-serving Justice in history, surpassing John Paul Stevens, who retired after thirty-four years, in 2010.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
Tackling heavy themes, including guilt and sins of the past, writer-director Rian Johnson crafts a rich story that transcends the surface-level reveals of whodunit.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
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For an Americana nod that transcends the test of time, a shade of fiery red nail polish always delivers.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
21 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/one-up. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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