Word.ws English Dictionary

doing someone one better

doing someone one better is the present participle and gerund of do someone one better.

Meaning of do someone one better

Verb

do someone one better (third-person singular simple present does someone one better, present participle doing someone one better, simple past did someone one better, past participle done someone one better)

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) To do more than somebody asked for or expected.
    • - Could you drive me to the station please?
      - I'll do you one better and lend you my car keys: you can drive yourself anywhere.

Questions about doing someone one better

What is doing someone one better the present participle and gerund of?
Doing someone one better is the present participle and gerund of do someone one better.

Words near doing someone one better in the dictionary

  1. doing right by
  2. doing somebody wrong
  3. doing someone a frighten
  4. doing someone brown
  5. doing someone like that
  6. doing someone one better
  7. doing someone proud
  8. doing someone's bidding
  9. doing someone's business
  10. doing someone's head in
  11. doing someone's heart good

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: doing someone one better (page history and authors); do someone one better (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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