one-upped; one-upping; one-ups
: to practice one-upmanship on
: being in a position of advantage
—usually used with on
Examples of one-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Akiva Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Even Coachella managed to one-up itself with surprise appearances.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
So how did the actor, who has already drove a motorcycle off a cliff, one-up himself for his eighth outing as the character?
—Michael Nied, People.com, 20 May 2025
Domestic automakers are vying to one-up each other on tech and value for money — and fighting to capture market share around the world.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
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Verb
Locked in a state of intergenerational co-dependence, Deborah and Ava fuss and fight, poke at each other’s insecurities, then reach common ground — all while one-upping each other with impossibly funny dialogue.
—Akiva Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Even Coachella managed to one-up itself with surprise appearances.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
So how did the actor, who has already drove a motorcycle off a cliff, one-up himself for his eighth outing as the character?
—Michael Nied, People.com, 20 May 2025
Domestic automakers are vying to one-up each other on tech and value for money — and fighting to capture market share around the world.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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