one up
adjective
having gained an advantage in some way that betokens success, especially over rivals.
one up
1 Americanadjective
-
having gained an advantage in some way that betokens success, especially over rivals.
-
leading an opponent by one point or one scoring unit.
The home team was one up on the visitors.
-
one each; tied at a score of one.
The score was one up in the ninth inning.
adverb
-
Printing. with only one reproduction of a form per sheet or on a given sheet.
We must print this job one up.
-
Journalism. using one more column of space than of type.
one-up
2
American
[wuhn-uhp]
/ ˈwʌnˈʌp /
verb (used with object)
one-upped,
one-upping
one-up
British
adjective
one up
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of one up1
First recorded in 1920–25
Origin of one-up2
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Price told Sky Sports he was "happy" to reach the final, but "getting one up" on good friend Clayton was his main focus going into the tie.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
While there are other ways for parents to save money for children, experts say it’s worth setting one up just in case your child becomes eligible for a contribution.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
“He was the only one up there and the only one who could have lit that fire,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The same logic works in reverse: travelers who want a London IP for the BBC iPlayer or a Tokyo IP for region-locked Japanese services can spin one up in seconds.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
He held this one up and examined each end of it carefully.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
If it doesn’t try to one-up Fox, Netflix could explore other acquisitions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, top artificial-intelligence labs have been embroiled in a cutthroat competition to one-up each other with powerful new features.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 18, 2026
So rather than just creating gadgets that one-up the phone, you get to actually explore new use cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” star Jesse Eisenberg may soon one-up the film franchise’s Robin Hood-esque Four Horsemen in the giving-back department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
“Not to one-up you or anything, but my body is made out of cancer.”
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
His wife, Amber, one-upped him, telling Marmol he should do it for the rest of the weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Anthropic one-upped its rival the next month, fielding proposals from investors that would value it at as much as $900 billion, according to multiple reports.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Musk went around the table, prodding the other members of the team as they one-upped one another with outrageous examples of their own.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
The night started with a high, as the Dodgers’ Big 3 hitters one-upped each other in a feat never before completed in the club’s 141-year history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2024
Shortly thereafter, George’s brother, Dick, one-upped him, winning the biggest of rowing prizes, the nearly two-hundred-year-old Doggett’s Coat and Badge itself.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
“Who thought it was a good idea to publicly challenge an educator to a 25k "one-upping" contest? Really?”
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2025
With Amazon One, the company may be most concerned with one-upping its competitors, Apple and Google, which already collect retina and fingerprint data from millions of device users.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2024
There’s the tiniest glint of guilt in his eyes as his protégé replaces him, one-upping him with a shamelessness that we still haven’t seen the depths of.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2024
While Watkins leans into scorn for the insufferable urbanites one-upping one another, he seems to treasure the more introspective figures of Morkan and Ames.
From New York Times ● Jun. 23, 2022
Drivers have stayed busy by one-upping each other with antics and practical jokes.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
