Dictionary

up the ante en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. To raise the stakes of a hand of poker.
   • With three aces and two jacks, he thought it was safe to up the ante.
2. (idiomatic) Of a dispute, to take an action that raises the stakes, i.e. that increases the chances of conflict.
3. (idiomatic) To render something more difficult.
   • At the same time, leaders of the sport have continued to up the ante, organizing harder and longer races. Many last several days and hundreds of miles and include both high-altitude climbs and extreme temperatures. 2021 May 25, Matthew Futterman, “‘I Am So Freaked Out. I Can’t Even Get My Mind Around It.’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2021:
   • When runners cross-train for events, they often up the ante by running on sand.
4. (idiomatic) To render something more desirable.
   • After a slow start, it was the home side who began to up the ante. Gokdeniz Karadeniz caused Spurs problems with his raids down the right and Alan Kasaev fired narrowly over from one of his pull-backs. 2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 25 Feb 2021:
   • The school system cannot raise teachers' salaries, so they are providing better benefits as an effort to up the ante.

Forms

Synonyms

sweeten the pot · raise the ante · raise the stakes

Translations (25)

vi gà (raise the stakes) · ro plusa (raise the stakes) · fr augmenter la mise (raise the stakes) · uk підніма́ти ста́вки (raise the stakes) · pt aumentar a aposta (raise the stakes) · pt subir a aposta (raise the stakes) · es redoblar la apuesta (raise the stakes) · vi chơi gà (raise the stakes) · fr corser les choses (raise the stakes) · fr mettre la barre plus haut (raise the stakes) · pt subir a parada (raise the stakes) · ru поднима́ть ста́вки (raise the stakes) · sv öka insatsen (raise the stakes) · it alzare la posta (raise the stakes) · ro mări miza (raise the stakes) · nl de inzet verhogen (raise the stakes) · ru подня́ть ста́вки (raise the stakes) · fr surenchérir (raise the stakes) · pl podnosić stawkę (raise the stakes) · fi korottaa panoksia (raise the stakes) · hu emeli a tétet (raise the stakes) · es subir la apuesta (raise the stakes) · fr faire monter les enchères (raise the stakes) · uk підня́ти ста́вки (raise the stakes) · fr monter la barre (raise the stakes)