two-up

American  

[too-uhp] / ˈtuˈʌp /

noun

1. a game in which two players bet that two tossed coins will land either with matching or nonmatching sides facing up.

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two-up British  

noun

1. a gambling game in which two coins are tossed or spun. Bets are made on both coins landing with the same face uppermost

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Etymology

Origin of two-up

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Example Sentences

McDowell took a two-up lead on No. 16, making a sliding, curling 15-foot downhill putt for birdie that left him two up with two holes to play.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

And riding two-up was such a pleasure that it makes me want to abandon traditional diamond-framed e-bikes forever.

From The Verge • Aug. 22, 2022

They were two-up, two-down accommodation, often with several families in one house.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2021

John Rolfe had no expectations of finding anything valuable when he arrived at a ramshackle two-up, two-down cottage tucked away in a remote West Country valley.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2020

The Push had scattered—some to the two-up school, some to the dance-room.

From Jonah by Stone, Louis