The AI-powered English dictionary
plural antes
A price or cost, as in up the ante. quotations examples
“… There was a man who always painted marble seats and another who did nothing but sheep. So a fellow I knew determined only to paint backs. Men's backs, women's backs, girls' backs and boys backs. … his best known bacchante was described by a critic as all back and no ante, but his backs became famous. …”
1936, Herbert Adams, chapter 2, in A Word of Six Letters
When it came to the more successful contestants, meanwhile, edits of the shows also began to fall heavily on sad backstories – the "sob story", if you will – instilling the idea that singers had to mine trauma from their lives to up the emotional ante, making them seem to be more "worthy" winners.
2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC
(poker) In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot before dealing the cards. examples
third-person singular simple present antes, present participle anteing, simple past and past participle anted or anteed
To pay the ante in poker. Often used as ante up. examples
To make an investment in money, effort, or time before knowing one's chances. examples