one up

• one-up

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one up (third-person singular simple present one ups, present participle one upping, simple past and past participle one upped)

1. (idiomatic) To outdo, to perform something slightly better than a competitor's prior effort.

   Every year the neighbors try to one-up each other with their holiday lights.

   "Time flies when you're having fun!" said one of the skiers in our party. "Yeah, but time's more fun when you're flying," Jay one-upped.

one up (plural one ups)

1. (especially in phrases like "get one up on someone") An advantage over someone.

   WePay wants to get one-up in the mobile payments race with its new iOS app for small businesses.

2. (video games) Alternative spelling of 1-up (“extra life”).

   If you hit that block, you can get a one up.

• get one up on
• go one better
• one-upmanship
• show off
• show up