two-up

American

[too-uhp] / ˈtuˈʌp /

noun

a game in which two players bet that two tossed coins will land either with matching or nonmatching sides facing up.

two-up British

noun

a gambling game in which two coins are tossed or spun. Bets are made on both coins landing with the same face uppermost

"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

Etymology

Origin of two-up

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

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:

two-up

Designed for two-up, enduro-style riding and bucket-list touring, these bikes have big wheels, huge engines, complex suspensions and radical ground clearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

McDowell took a two-up lead on No. 16, making a sliding, curling 15-foot downhill putt for birdie that left him two up with two holes to play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

And riding two-up was such a pleasure that it makes me want to abandon traditional diamond-framed e-bikes forever.

From The Verge ● Aug. 22, 2022

He shared a bed with him until he was 15 in the family's two-up, two-down in Ordsall, known as the "slums of Salford".

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2021

"I should 'ave said 'Buy Jack Ryan's 'orse an' cart, an' never go near a two-up school again'," said Pinkey, thinking of the impossible.

From Jonah by Louis Stone

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023