Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

up the ante

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.33 in modern English

Syllables: up- the ante
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To raise the stakes of a hand of poker.

verb

Of a dispute, to take an action that raises the stakes, i.e. that increases the chances of conflict.

verb

To render something more difficult.

verb

To render something more desirable.

Example Sentences

"With three aces and two jacks, he thought it was safe to up the ante."
"When runners cross-train for events, they often up the ante by running on sand."
"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."
"The school system cannot raise teachers' salaries, so they are providing better benefits as an effort to up the ante."
"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."

Inflected Forms

ups the ante (present, singular) upping the ante (participle, present) upped the ante (participle, past) upped the ante (past)

Synonyms

raise the ante raise the stakes sweeten the pot

Questions

What does up the ante mean?: To raise the stakes of a hand of poker.

How to pronounce up the ante

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