one-upmanship

[ wuhn-uhp-muhn-ship ]

noun

1. 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.

oneˈ-upmanship

/ wʌnˈʌpmənʃɪp /

noun

1. informal.
   the art or practice of achieving or maintaining an advantage over others, often by slightly unscrupulous means

Word History and Origins

Origin of one-upmanship¹

First recorded in 1950–55; one up + -manship

Example Sentences

The duo often engages in silly games of comedy one-upmanship, resulting in some truly hilarious impersonations.

From The Daily Beast

Too often we focus on one-upmanship and demonization of those whose points of view are different from our own.

From The Daily Beast

And both are studded with rococo set pieces of ruthless masculine one-upmanship.

From The Daily Beast

The gesture strikes me as hostile, and vaguely chauvinistic; how pathetic, I think, that his impulse is one-upmanship.

From The Daily Beast

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.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• gamesmanship