Increase what is at stake or under discussion, especially in a conflict or dispute.
‘he decided to up the ante in the trade war’
‘And, whenever new and useful information came in, she would up the ante by increasing the reward money.’
‘With bottled water now boasting a retail value of 900m, Highland Spring is prepared to up the ante in an increasingly competitive market.’
‘The film successfully ups the ante with this brisk and charming story of a young girl from a righteous Sikh family who doesn't want to conform to the narrow community ways her mum so desperately maintains.’
‘It ups the ante on what popular history can, and should, do.’
‘At least this kind of talk ups the ante after the anodyne stuff we've endured at the majority of press conferences.’
‘With this novel she ups the ante, breaking new ground with a superbly plotted and gripping historical novel.’
‘He said: ‘We are upping the ante and we are expecting it to be a relatively intense period of operations.’’
‘Ghostly goings-on are almost commonplace in many York pubs, but the Red Lion is upping the ante with multiple gory tales - and a picture which staff claim shows a mysterious apparition.’
‘Then last week the ante was upped considerably more with another seizure this time of the dreaded weed with a street value of €200,000.’
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