go one better

verb

To take a bet and add another to it.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbgo one better (third-person singular simple present goes one better, present participle going one better, simple past went one better, past participle gone one better)

present singular third person goes one better · participle present going one better · past went one better · participle past gone one better

  1. To take a bet and add another to it.
  2. To outdo somebody; to do something that surpasses what came before.

    Arsenal, who have finished second for the past three seasons, added Spain international Martin Zubimendi to their midfield for £60m this summer as they look to go one better and win the title.

    2025 October 21, Alex Howell, “The evolution of Rice - how midfielder became Arsenal's all-rounder”, in BBC Sport
Cite this entry
APA

go one better. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20one%20better

MLA

“go one better.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20one%20better. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go one better,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20one%20better.

Source: go one better on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.