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Glite Dictionary
🛏️ To share space 😂 To bend over 🎲 To risk winnings
to double up

to double up

1 6.2
Use your winnings on another bet to try to make them twice as much
  • phrasal verb
  • Jargon
translation icon : duplicar la apuesta
  • They doubled up the Bearcats 42-21 by halftime and simply cruised from there.
  • doubling up on your bet

Examples

  • You keep doubling up, and sooner or later... ..you're bound to win.

    Rogue Trader (1999)

  • GIL: If Huck calls, he'll double up, or be out.

    Lucky You (2007)

  • You miss a bet, you double up.

    Play It to the Bone (1999)

  • Trying to double up on that income?

    Lost in America (1985)

  • Sell them and get money now and then double up on the lower tail.

  • Calvero gave me three horses and I doubled up on them!

    Limelight (1952)

  • He's very short-stacked and he'll have to double up soon.

    The Grand (2007)

  • After losing the first round, he decided to double up on his next bet to recover his losses.

  • In poker, if you feel confident about your hand, you might double up to increase your winnings.

  • She chose to double up her wager after winning the previous game to try for a bigger payout.

Synonyms

to parlay
vsto double up
  • Jargon
1 9.0

To use winnings to place another bet

aims specifically to double the original gain rather than just grow returns

Antonyms

to play it safe
42 3.4

Choose a careful option to avoid risks

How Risky

to go all in
  • Informal
15 5.2
to double up
  • Jargon
1 6.2
to raise
  • Jargon
50 4.6
bet
665 1.4

Surface Forms

double up infinitive
doubled up past
doubled up past participle
doubling up present participle
doubles up third person singular

Morphology

double + up

The verb 'double' clearly signals making something twice as large and the particle 'up' adds an increase/intensifying sense, so a B1 learner would likely infer that the phrase involves increasing a stake or amount. However, the specific gambling practice of staking previous winnings on the next wager is a specialized, collocational sense that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Double up comes from gambling, where a player puts their first win 'up' on the next bet to try to double their money. So, it means 'to risk winnings to try to double them'.