one-upping

Definition of one-uppingnext
present participle of one-up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for one-upping
Verb
  • The Timberwolves were outrunning the Jazz at home with a 23-9 advantage in fast-break points through three quarters, but couldn't sustain that effort in the fourth.
    CBS News, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
  • As the administration prepares for another year of governing—and another season of fiscal showdowns on Capitol Hill—the question is shifting from whether the debt is growing too fast to how long the world’s largest economy can keep outrunning its own balance sheet.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
    Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Taylor Swift is taking a bow after outdoing everyone — including herself — on the Billboard charts with The Life of a Showgirl this week.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Super Micro earned 69 cents per share on an adjusted basis, outpacing the consensus estimate of 49 cents per share, per LSEG.
    Liz Napolitano,Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Meanwhile, silver’s price has jumped sharply, trading at nearly $90 per ounce today, a nearly 182% increase from about $32 a year earlier—far outpacing its historical sluggish price increases.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • States that automatically send every report to police are far exceeding federal requirements, experts said.
    Shoshana Walter, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Shares of networking equipment company Cisco have rallied about 18% since reporting its latest quarter in mid-November, greatly exceeding the S & P 500 gain of about 2% over the same time period.
    Jeff Marks, CNBC, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The 43-point defeat was the worst in program history, surpassing a 31-point loss to Texas in 1984.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The country’s trade hit a record high last year, surpassing 3 trillion Malaysian ringgit ($780 billion).
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The quiet ethic often called Minnesota Nice is outshining the intimidation meant to silence dissent.
    Valeng Cha, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Google-parent Alphabet was the most magnificent of the Magnificent Seven; Colombia’s stock market was the surprise leader of the MSCI All Country World Index; silver surged over 141%, outshining its sibling gold, which itself had a phenomenal year.
    Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 5 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Notable versions include those by Johnny Cash, John Denver, John Fogerty, and a 1976 chart-topping version by Lynn Anderson, as well as recent interpretations by Sturgill Simpson and Kelsey Waldon.
    Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The title is also riding high across South Asia, including chart-topping or near-the-top placement in markets such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, reinforcing the film’s regional pull beyond its home base.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The reissue features a pair of great new remixes, one transcending the corporate madness and the other peering deep inside its dark core.
    Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 7 Feb. 2026
  • This explains why about 10% of Mamdani voters were Trump voters in the past, transcending ideological divides to send the same message about the status quo.
    Will Johnson, Time, 1 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“One-upping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/one-upping. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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