1-up

English

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1-up

/ˈwʌn ʌp/
/wɒn ʌp/ UK

Where it comes from

"Extra life" sense borrowed from Japanese 1UP(ワンアップ) (wan'appu) and perhaps popularized by Super Mario Bros. (1985); but the term existed earlier in multi-player pinball and other arcade games in the 1960s, where "1Up" and "2Up" were used as flashing notifications to indicate who would play next (or who was "up" next in order). See https://www.inverse.com/gaming/1up-meaning-origin-definition-gaming.

noun 1-ups · one-up

An item that grants the player an extra life in the game, staving off game over by one more try.
In a game with multiple players, an indicator or identifier of player 1. Before any player registers points, the PAC-MAN scoring table displays in white "1 UP" and "2 UP" where the scores will appear.

Translations

Every language

noun An item that grants the player an extra life in the game, staving off game over by one more try

한국어	1UP (1-eop), 원 업 won eop
日本語	1UP (wan appu), ワンアップ wan appu
Deutsch	1-Up

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Cite this

MLA

"1-up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/1-up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

1-up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/1-up

Chicago

"1-up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/1-up.

BibTeX

@misc{1_up_2026,
  title = {1-up},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/1-up},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}