up the ante
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Those with a sense of the game's history, such as Ben Crenshaw, might cite Arnold Palmer as the man who opened the throttle of the gravy train.
So we're gon na up the ante a bit.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “up the ante” mean?
Raise the stakes.
Is “up the ante” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.