one-upmanship
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That kind of provocative behavior will lead to years, even a lifetime, of one-upmanship, backbiting and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
The resulting game of financial one-upmanship has tied the fates of the world’s biggest semiconductor and cloud companies—and vast swaths of the U.S. economy—to OpenAI, essentially making it too big to fail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
Jason, who was capped for England, jokingly replied: "It’s always like one-upmanship on who can get hurt the worst."
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024
A mini succession drama unfolds, but like the HBO series on the subject, it’s impossible to separate corporate one-upmanship from family dysfunction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024
I laughed at the thought of Mrs. Dorn keeping a tally of everything her neighbors purchased, and tried not to be jealous that Audrey got a car because of a game of wealthy one-upmanship.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
