one-upping

verb

present participle of one-up
as in outrunning

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for one-upping
  1. outrunning
  2. outdoing
  3. outpacing
  4. exceeding
  5. surpassing
  6. outshining
  7. topping
  8. transcending
Verb
  • But Collins, who is running for a sixth term, has a history of surviving tough reelection battles and outrunning other Republicans.
    — Taurean Small, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Concerns that the administration is outrunning the courts The judges’ frustrations have also centered on the speed with which the administration is pushing ahead on the projects with little regard for the approvals needed to pursue such work.
    — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of outrunning
Verb
  • Many of these employees have been buying homes, often outdoing rival buyers by offering well above the asking price, real estate agents say.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
  • View gallery - 3 images IBM has developed the blueprint for producing a processor using sub-1-nanometer (nm) chip technology, outdoing its own efforts to increase efficiency and processing power with 2-nm tech from a few years ago.
    — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 26 June 2026
Definition of outdoing
Verb
  • With the backing of both the county’s Democratic Party and the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, Roy won June’s primary easily, outpacing McKinney by 15 percentage points.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The party’s pick García has led the field in fundraising, far outpacing Hershey and Castillo and edging out Getty with support from congressional Democrats, left-leaning political action committees and labor unions.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of outpacing
Verb
  • Bianco’s representative last week filed a claim for damages exceeding $10,000.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Apple's new foldable iPhone Duo is off to a strong start, with delivery wait times exceeding three months.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceeding
Verb
  • Winter plays Hogan Young, the charming, cocky and ambitious son of the Vice President, who has every intention of following his father into politics — and ultimately surpassing him.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Stokes finished with three blocks and now has a WNBA Finals record of 14 in the four games, surpassing the old record of 12 by Brittney Griner and Sylvia Fowles.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of surpassing
Verb
  • But doubt crept into the stands as the game wore on, the mounting tension at times outshining the spiritwear.
    — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Some have considered this a case of hackery outshining artistry.
    — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of outshining
Verb
  • Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin and CSX were among the latest companies to join the list of those topping profit expectations for the summer, and gains for their stocks helped limit the market's losses Thursday.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The union argues that income limits topping $500,000 in parts of the state make it more a tax break for the wealthy than an education program.
    — Lara Murray-Sterzel, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of topping
Verb
  • Shelley’s novel continues to influence conversations around deeply human topics, transcending time to produce literary and philosophical dialogue.
    — Maria Papadouris, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Starting off strong with a stunning (and huge) 16-inch 2K touch-screen, this laptop is already transcending your traditional expectations.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of transcending
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.

Browse Nearby Words

one-upped
one-upping
one-ups
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Cite this Entry

“One-upping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/one-upping. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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