How to Use one-up in a Sentence

one-up

verb
Definition of one-upnext
Synonyms for one-upnext
  • Clearly, the 170 is about the numbers, and Dodge had to one-up the old Demon.
    — Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 20 Mar. 2023
  • On Princess Cruises’ 2026 world cruise, the line will one-up itself.
    — Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
  • Well now, DeSantis has a new idea to one-up the House of Mouse: turn it into a big house.
    — Tori Otten, The New Republic, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Only one thing left for the rookie lefty to do after Webb tossed one shutout and Snell one-upped him with a no-hitter.
    — Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2024
  • But on Friday, DraftKings swooped in and offered to one-up the offer with a $195 million all-cash bid.
    — Aaron Pressman, BostonGlobe.com, 16 June 2023
  • Leave it to method-dressing queen Margot Robbie to try and one-up her in a Mugler spring 1996 corset at the Oscars.
    — Alice Newbold, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Chance one-upped his fellow coach by also singing the song with Nadége onstage; the surprise move helped Chance persuade the singer to join his team.
    — USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
  • All this results in a hotel that wows from the first impression and then one-ups itself at every turn.
    — Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024
  • All this results in a hotel that wows from the first impression and then one-ups itself at every turn.
    — Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024
  • Alan Cumming is always looking to one-up himself — and not just with his fashion.
    — Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 13 June 2024
  • No one was trying to one-up one another, as in the typical writers room.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
  • In Season 2, your ex-husband, played by Adam Scott, builds a rocket and attempts to go to space, sort of to impress his ex-wife but also to one-up her.
    — Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 12 July 2024
  • The office environment will feel tense as everyone will be trying to one-up their peers to keep their jobs.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023
  • But there's one thing that's more important to Blake: one-upping her hubby in their never-ending troll-fest.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Which brings us to this year’s Bruins, who were historically dominant to one-up that Lightning squad to the tune of 65 wins.
    — Amin Touri, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Apr. 2023
  • But what started as mere jabs at the other’s height and hair soon became something more sinister as each rapper tried to one-up the other.
    — C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 9 May 2024
  • These mitts are also waterproof, so your hands will stay safe if hot liquids splash onto your gloves, a one-up over fabric mitts.
    — Parker Hall, WIRED, 29 June 2023
  • Shortstop Jorge Mateo also homered — one-upping Henderson with a 433-foot shot to left field for his first home run of the season.
    — Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 4 Apr. 2023
  • The trend has been popular on social media, with TikTok users one-upping each other for who has gone the longest stretch with the fewest amenities.
    — Lilit Marcus, CNN, 28 June 2024
  • Be Consistent Parents often try to one-up each other after a split to win the kids’ affection.
    — Michelle Dempsey-Multack, Parents, 30 Jan. 2024
  • But Muñoz isn’t the type to be complacent, and is always looking to one-upping his previous releases.
    — Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 1 Dec. 2023
  • But for Kansas officials, spending would at least leave Missouri and come to Kansas, and one-upping Missouri has its own allure.
    — Will Daniel, Fortune, 15 June 2024
  • Of all of the new stuff in the Framework Laptop 16, this is also the part that most obviously one-ups the experience of opening up the original Framework Laptop.
    — Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The brilliant final punchline, without giving much away, nicely one-ups the similar conclusion of The Prey (1983).
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 13 Sep. 2024
  • Some retailers and restaurants are one-upping each other on discounts.
    — Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 27 May 2024
  • Jeremiah can one-up his brother by purchasing a + Qu’hier - Que Demain necklace, a much subtler love token.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The giver of advice is one-up, superior in knowledge and, by virtue of exercising the right to tell the other what to do, also superior in rank.
    — Deborah Tannen, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2016
  • Yet the debate frequently descended into childish insults, with Trump and Biden seeking to one-up each other up until the end.
    — Marianne Levine, Washington Post, 28 June 2024
  • An inning later, outfielder Micah McDowell one-upped his freshman teammate with a 443-foot blast to deep right field, smashing the first home run of his career.
    — Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 3 Mar. 2023
  • The one-upping stage magicians of The Prestige, who go mad trying to best one another, are distinctly Nolanish figures.
    — WIRED, 24 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'one-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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