one up

¹ American  

adjective

1. having gained an advantage in some way that betokens success, especially over rivals.

2. leading an opponent by one point or one scoring unit.

   The home team was one up on the visitors.

3. one each; tied at a score of one.

   The score was one up in the ninth inning.

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adverb

1. Printing. with only one reproduction of a form per sheet or on a given sheet.

   We must print this job one up.

2. 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

1. to get the better of; succeed in being a point, move, step, etc., ahead of (someone).

   They one-upped the competition.

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one-up British  

adjective

1. informal having or having scored an advantage or lead over someone or something

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one up Idioms  

1. Having an advantage or lead over someone, as in Sara is one up on Jane because she passed algebra in summer school. This expression comes from sports, where it means to be one point ahead of one's opponents. It was transferred to more general use about 1920.

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Etymology

Origin of one up¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Origin of one-up²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Second, how do you set one up?

From MarketWatch

You can pick one up for less than a fiver.

From BBC

"Sam," his sister was saying in an eager, excited voice, "we just have a small apartment. And there wasn't an extra bedroom for you. So we fixed one up in the pantry. We painted the walls blue, and we put your little crib in there, and we took the dishes out of the cupboards and put your clothes in there, and Mom made curtains with unicorns on them just for you. I bet you're the only baby in Cambridge who gets to sleep in a pantry!"

From Literature

He picked this one up and examined it.

From Literature

He held this one up and examined each end of it carefully.

From Literature