raise the bar

🌎Region: International 📊Difficulty Level:intermediate

💡Meaning

To increase the standard or level of difficulty/expectation, making success harder and performance requirements higher.

🕰️Origin

From sports such as high jump and pole vault: raising the crossbar increases the required height to clear, metaphorically meaning higher standards or tougher goals.

📝Notes

Used for higher standards/expectations (quality, performance, goals). Often positive (improvement) but can imply added pressure or tougher requirements.

💬Examples

The new safety rules raised the bar for every contractor on the project.
Her breakthrough presentation raised the bar for what our team can deliver.
To stay competitive, the company keeps raising the bar on customer service.
Winning this award raises the bar for future applicants.
The coach raised the bar in practice, demanding faster drills and fewer mistakes.

📘Grammar & Usage Notes

Fixed phrase usually as a verb + object: “raise the bar (for/on …)”. Can be inflected: raised/raising. Also appears as noun phrase: “the bar was raised.”

🔗Synonyms

raise standards
raise expectations
up the ante
set the bar higher

↔️Antonyms

lower the bar
set the bar low