ante [E19th] The expression up the ante, meaning ‘to increase what is at stake’, comes from the world of card games and gambling. Ante is a Latin word meaning ‘before’ and is a component of English words such as ante-room [M17th] and antenatal [L18th]. Ante was first used in English by American players of card games in the early 19th century for a stake put up by a player to start the betting before drawing the cards. ‘Upping’ (or ‘raising’) the ante [M19th] is putting up a higher stake than your opponent in order to put more pressure on them.