one-upped; one-upping; one-ups
: to practice one-upmanship on
: being in a position of advantage
—usually used with on
Examples of one-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gary Trust, Billboard, 3 June 2025
And in the business category, several carriers have spent the past few years quietly racing to one-up each other by installing more comfortable lie-flat beds, swapping polyester seat fabrics for higher-quality leather and wool blends, and offering everything from caviar service to premium wines.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 30 May 2025
Aussie horror sibs Danny and Michael Philippou one-up themselves with their depraved second feature, a visceral nerve-shredder that thrusts them into the same scream big leagues as Ari Aster, John Carpenter and Jordan Peele.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 May 2025
Locked in a state of intergenerational co-dependence, Deborah and Ava fuss and fight, poke at each other’s insecurities, then reach common ground — all while one-upping each other with impossibly funny dialogue.
—Akiva Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
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Verb
Wallen also holds four of the top 10, likewise a new best, one-upping the three simultaneous top 10s that Drake logged for nine weeks in June-September 2018.
—Gary Trust, Billboard, 3 June 2025
And in the business category, several carriers have spent the past few years quietly racing to one-up each other by installing more comfortable lie-flat beds, swapping polyester seat fabrics for higher-quality leather and wool blends, and offering everything from caviar service to premium wines.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 30 May 2025
Aussie horror sibs Danny and Michael Philippou one-up themselves with their depraved second feature, a visceral nerve-shredder that thrusts them into the same scream big leagues as Ari Aster, John Carpenter and Jordan Peele.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 May 2025
Locked in a state of intergenerational co-dependence, Deborah and Ava fuss and fight, poke at each other’s insecurities, then reach common ground — all while one-upping each other with impossibly funny dialogue.
—Akiva Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for one-up
Cite this Entry
“One-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-up. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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