Poker. a fixed but arbitrary stake put into the pot by each player before the deal.
an amount of money paid in advance to insure an individual's share in a joint business venture.
Informal. an individual's share of the total expenses incurred by a group.
Informal. the price or cost of something.
Poker. to put (one's initial stake) into the pot.
to produce or pay (one's share) (usually followed byup ).
He anted up his half of the bill.
Poker. to put one's initial stake into the pot.
Informal. to pay (usually followed byup ).
the gaming stake put up before the deal in poker by the players
informal a sum of money representing a person's share, as in a syndicate
informal to increase the costs, risks, or considerations involved in taking an action or reaching a conclusion
whenever they reached their goal, they upped the ante by setting more complex challenges for themselves
to place (one's stake) in poker
informal (usually foll by up) to pay
First recorded in 1830–40, independent use of ante-
From Latin, prefixal form of preposition and adverb ante ( see ancient 1); akin to Greek antí, Old English and- “against, toward, opposite.” See answer, and, anti-
In poker, the ante is the money each player puts in the pot before the hand begins. Hesitate to add your cash and the dealer will likely shout "ante up!" There's "ante up" and then there's "up the ante" — both idioms that have seeped out of the poker world into everyday speech. The former means to pay up; the latter means to raise the stakes or make something either more risky or more desirable. Parents can really up the ante by promising their kids a trip to Disney World if they bring home all As at report card time.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And when it counted most, Williams upped the ante, using her booming serve to save a match point and force a deciding set.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
So the endgame, as it is now, is definitely handing, relative to the status quo ante, the U.S. banks a competitive advantage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
And I guess I’m curious about why this is done in the language of We’re tweaking, we’re doing tiny fixes, we’re restoring us to the status quo ex ante.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026
"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
They keep coming—a mountain spilling over the ante pile.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
A close study of dermal changes may reveal whether a burn was ante- or post-mortem, according to one paper.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
The reality of an NHS stretched to it limits is: not enough midwives, too few anaesthetists on call, and ante- and postnatal care reduced to six-minute slots.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 13, 2018
She married Jacob Cooke, and the ante- nuptial agreement of his parents is believed to be the earliest of record in America, except that between Gregory Armstrong and the widow Billington.
From The Mayflower and Her Log; July 15, 1620-May 6, 1621 — Volume 4 by Ames, Azel
The courtiers displayed their zeal with all the ardor, the passion, the furia francese, which is a national characteristic, and appears on the battle-field as well as in the ante- chamber.
From The Court of the Empress Josephine by Perry, Thomas Sergeant
Coming in due time—and with a grateful heart—to a small ante- chamber, he was told to sit down and wait.
From The Prince of Graustark by McCutcheon, George Barr
Barea, who as Bad Bunny rightly pointed out, “fue campeón antes que LeBron.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
The stakes were low, with antes ranging from $5 to $20, because the students were on tight budgets.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
If he hits a home run you take the whole thing and everyone antes again.
From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2013
Quite clearly, verbal antes are clearly being upped on both sides of the Atlantic in what remains very high stakes legal action.
From Time ● Jul. 6, 2011
Rocin is a Spanish word that means "nag" or "workhorse"; and antes means "before."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
When Strug badly injured her ankle on a failed vault, and then anted up for another go, viewers cheered.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2021
Seattle and King County anted up for a hotline and clinic, the first local funding outside of San Francisco.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2019
Outlook: The Raptors did not do much in terms of adding talent from outside the organization this off-season, but they anted up a combined $165 million to retain Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2017
It helped when Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota and other coastal counties anted up to build the connecting roads.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2015
“I w anted to ask you about what happened,” I say.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
"And did the man lose his horses entirely?" asked Flood, who had anteed up his last bean and joined us.
From The Log of a Cowboy A Narrative of the Old Trail Days by Adams, Andy
And we anteed up a hundred In the hands of Deacon Kedge For to be divided the follerin' Fo'th 'Mongst the boys that kep' the pledge.
From Poems by Hay, John
Copley and Kroc covered half the festival's budgeted cost by anteing up $500,000 and $1 million respectively.
From Time Magazine Archive
This may affect the enthusiasm of San Francisco or New York for anteing up again.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even after anteing up $400 million to the Community budget this year, Greece should come out ahead by more than $200 million, thanks to such perks as $184 million from the E.C.
From Time Magazine Archive
This week investors were anteing $5,249,200 for the 198,083 K. & T. shares sold by the Kearneys.
From Time Magazine Archive
Cuthbert's $50 anteing chip was in the middle of the table.
From Taking Chances by Cullen, Clarence L.
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.
