one-upmanship

American  

[wuhn-uhp-muhn-ship] / ˈwʌnˈʌp mənˌʃɪp /

Also one-upsmanship

noun

1. the art or practice of achieving, demonstrating, or assuming superiority in one's rivalry with a friend or opponent by obtaining privilege, status, status symbols, etc..

   the one-upmanship of getting into the president's car pool.

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oneˈ-upmanship British  

/ wʌnˈʌpmənʃɪp /

noun

1. informal  the art or practice of achieving or maintaining an advantage over others, often by slightly unscrupulous means

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Etymology

Origin of one-upmanship

First recorded in 1950–55; one up + -manship

Example Sentences

That kind of provocative behavior will lead to years, even a lifetime, of one-upmanship, backbiting and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.

From MarketWatch

The resulting game of financial one-upmanship has tied the fates of the world’s biggest semiconductor and cloud companies—and vast swaths of the U.S. economy—to OpenAI, essentially making it too big to fail.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite California’s kumbaya vibe, a deep lode of hate and racist one-upmanship undergirds Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times

Their history is littered with games of political one-upmanship, legal fights and loud, national back-and-forths in service of their policies and parties.

From Salon

Like a taut earthquake fault that too often unbelts itself and cuts loose with repellent force, a deep lode of hate and racist one-upmanship undergirds Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gamesmanship