ante

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ante (“before”).

noun

1. A price or cost, as in up the ante.
   “… 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. September 15 2021, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC
2. (poker) In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot before dealing the cards.

verb

1. To pay the ante in poker. Often used as ante up.
2. To make an investment in money, effort, or time before knowing one's chances.