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Glite Dictionary
to one up

to one up

11 6.7
To do or say something to seem better than someone
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : superar a
  • I'm starting to think they're trying to one-up each other.
  • trying to one up
  • always trying to one up
  • one-upping each other

Well guess what, I have my own fail safe to one up you now.

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Examples

Synonyms

to get ahead
vsto one up
83 3.4

Do better than others, for example at work or school

stresses being superior by surpassing others rather than steady progress forward
to outdo
vsto one up
22 3.8

Be better than someone at something

is about having an overall superior position rather than just better performance
to outrank
vsto one up
22 5.3

Be in a higher position than someone

means having an advantaged position in general social comparison rather than formal rank
to outshine
vsto one up
15 4.8

Do better and get more attention than others

is about having a superior position rather than merely attracting attention
to outgain
vsto one up
2 6.7

To gain more than someone else, especially in a competition

emphasizes overall advantage in position rather than only numerical gains
to get one up on
vsto one up
  • Informal
1 6.1

To have an advantage over someone in competition

is about holding a superior position by surpassing another person
to outvie
vsto one up
  • Archaic
9.9

To try to be better than someone in a contest or task

focuses on being in a superior position through beating a rival
to outstand
vsto one up
7.6

To be better than others in skill or quality

is more about holding an advantaged position over another person

How Superior

to dominate
275 3.7
to eclipse
31 6.0
to surpass
100 4.6
to one up
  • Informal
11 6.7
edge
310 3.8

Surface Forms

one up infinitive
one upped past
one upped past participle
one upping present participle
one ups third person singular

Morphology

one + up

The components 'one' (a single unit/advantage) and 'up' (higher/better) give clear cues that someone is in a superior position, so a learner could plausibly infer a basic sense of being 'ahead' or having an advantage. However, the verbal use 'to one-up someone' meaning 'to outdo or surpass' is a pragmatic/idiomatic extension of those cues and may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

The verb one up may come from old games where having one more point or move put you up on another player. So that clear image of being a step ahead is why one up now means 'to be in a better position' or 'to outdo someone'.