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
The skyscape of this city is peppered with examples of architectural “I’ll go higher still” one-upmanship.
From BBC • Sep. 26, 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
Gunters loved to play the game of one-upmanship and were constantly trying to prove they had acquired more obscure knowledge than everyone else.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
