Idiom idiom
up the ante
Meaning
Of a dispute, to take an action that raises the stakes, i.e. that increases the chances of conflict.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“They decided to up the ante by doubling the bet.”
“The company decided to up the ante by offering a much higher salary to attract the best candidates.”
“By threatening to withdraw all funding, the board members chose to up the ante in their ongoing struggle for control of the organization.”
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026