Meaning
Raise the bar
- to be better than what went before
- to raise standards or expectations
- to set higher rules/goals
- to make something harder
Lower the bar
- to lower standards or expectations
- to set simple rules than previous ones
- to make something easier
Example Sentences
- Our family is so competitive. Now that my cousin has gone to university, everyone will expect me and my brother to raise the bar too.
- Apple iPhone is really raising the bar with the latest model. It's amazing.
- Caroline brought the most boring man around for dinner last night. She really is going to have to raise the bar if she wants to impress her parents with her choice of men.
- The under 18s teams are raising the bar this season. They are unstoppable.
- It's such a struggle to get anywhere at work. Just imagine you have achieved something, and the boss raises the bar again.
- In order to 'raise the bar' on style, I've sourced out some new accessories.
- The company promises to raise the bar for safety and comfort in its upcoming car model.
- The revision bill aims to lower the bar on picking candidates.
- We have played on a par with any opponent so far. We can't lower the bar.
- It's okay to lower the bar right now, not because we don't have high standards, but we need a break.
- She was not ready to lower the bar of expectation just yet.
- Scientists decided to lower the bar on the Covid-19 vaccine potential to avoid fatal side effects.
- If it does not lower the bar for anyone, the system can be better off.
- The company has lowered the bar for new candidates to fill vacant positions.
Origin
This phrase originates in athletic terminology around the turn of the century. It is from the area of pole vault and high jump, where it is necessary to raise the bar after each jump to reach a new height record and increase the competition. In the workplace, bosses are continually setting new targets or goals for the workers to achieve, hence raising the bar there too.
Lower the bar is a wholly opposite term (but equally popular) of ' raise the bar' that means to reduce the values of excellence or quality that are expected of or required for something. A bar that is set low would be much easier to jump over than a bar that was set up high. In this way, two opposing idioms originated simultaneously.
