one-upmanship
the art or practice of achieving, demonstrating, or assuming superiority in one's rivalry with a friend or opponent by obtaining privilege, status, status symbols, etc.: the one-upmanship of getting into the president's car pool.
Origin of one-upmanship
1- Also called upmanship, upsmanship.
- Also one-ups·man·ship [wuhn-uhps-muhn-ship]. /ˈwʌnˈʌps mənˌʃɪp/.
Words Nearby one-upmanship
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use one-upmanship in a sentence
The duo often engages in silly games of comedy one-upmanship, resulting in some truly hilarious impersonations.
21 Best Celebrity Self-Parodies in Honor of ‘This is the End’ | Marlow Stern | June 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTToo often we focus on one-upmanship and demonization of those whose points of view are different from our own.
Roland Martin Made Mistakes in Tweets Deemed Antigay but Is No Homophobe | Phill Wilson | February 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd both are studded with rococo set pieces of ruthless masculine one-upmanship.
The gesture strikes me as hostile, and vaguely chauvinistic; how pathetic, I think, that his impulse is one-upmanship.
A call girl's idea of one-upmanship—which is far more beneficial to the men she sees—is being more discreet than the next girl.
British Dictionary definitions for one-upmanship
/ (wʌnˈʌpmənʃɪp) /
informal the art or practice of achieving or maintaining an advantage over others, often by slightly unscrupulous means
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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