View synonyms for

one up

adjective

having gained an advantage in some way that betokens success, especially over rivals.
leading an opponent by one point or one scoring unit:
The home team was one up on the visitors.
one each; tied at a score of one:
The score was one up in the ninth inning.

adverb

Printing. with only one reproduction of a form per sheet or on a given sheet:
We must print this job one up.
Journalism. using one more column of space than of type.

one-up

[ wuhn-uhp ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

one-upped, one-upping.

to get the better of; succeed in being a point, move, step, etc., ahead of (someone):
They one-upped the competition.

one-up

adjective

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of one up¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Origin of one up²

First recorded in 1960–65

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Idioms and Phrases

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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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

For the first one up - 71-year-old Yunice Abbas - this was done through a "enquête de personnalité", a sort of background report on a person accused of a crime which French courts regularly include in their trials.

From

"Don't pick that one up," he warns.

From

I was able to pick one up, almost as if it were still a book.

From

Sir Keir told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Firstly, a woman is an adult female, so let's clear that one up."

From

How to describe the feeling when my 7-year-old grandson lashes one up the middle and legs it into a triple, and me getting high-fives from the other granddads?

From

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

one-two one-upmanship

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