up the ante
To raise the stakes of a hand of poker.
With three aces and two jacks, he thought it was safe to up the ante.
ante
/ˈænti/
noun 2verb 2name 1
Collocations
2PREP.
in, up
ADV.
constantly
Definitions
noun
1
A price or cost, as in up the ante.
“… There was a man who always painted marble seats and another who did nothing but sheep. So a fellow I knew determined only to paint backs. Men's backs, women's backs, girls' backs and boys backs. … his best known bacchante was described by a critic as all back and no ante, but his backs became famous. …”
When it came to the more successful contestants, meanwhile, edits of the shows also began to fall heavily on sad backstories – the "sob story", if you will – instilling the idea that singers had to mine trauma from their lives to up the emotional ante, making them seem to be more "worthy" winners.
2
In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot, often before dealing all the cards.
verb
1
To pay the ante in poker. Often used as ante up.
2
To make an investment in money, effort, or time before knowing one's chances.
name
1
A surname.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
301
“… There was a man who always painted marble seats and another who did nothing but sheep. So a fellow I knew determined only to paint backs. Men's backs, women's backs, girls' backs and boys backs. …
Wiktionary02
When it came to the more successful contestants, meanwhile, edits of the shows also began to fall heavily on sad backstories – the "sob story", if you will – instilling the idea that singers had to mi
Wiktionary03
Gauge queens constantly up the ante in order to assert their commitment to a counter cultural look.
Tatoeba · #1252961Usage Notes
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