Raise the Bar
“Raise the bar” means to set a higher standard. The metaphor maps directly onto sports such as high jump and pole vault, where the physical bar is raised as performance improves. Secondary language-history reporting places figurative use around the turn of the twentieth century; this guide records that as approximate chronology, not a single proven coinage date.
It means to increase the standard, level, or expectation that must be met.
Key details
Documented timeline
- Date unresolved
Figurative use reported around the turn of the twentieth century
VOA Learning English reports that word experts place the idiom’s emergence around this period.
Variants
Current idiomatic form.
Related standards metaphor, not necessarily the same fixed idiom.
Meaning over time
Physical sports bar
High jump and pole vault use a bar whose height is increased as the standard rises.
Increase a standard
The sports image generalized to expectations, quality, and performance.
Further guidance
Chronology boundary
VOA’s language-history account says the idiom came into use around the turn of the twentieth century; this is stored as an approximation rather than an absolute first use.
Contextual Examples
The new response-time target raises the bar for customer support.
Her research raised the bar for what the committee expected from later submissions.
Meaning
Cambridge defines the idiom as setting a higher standard by doing something very well.
Meaning Boundary
It is about changing the benchmark or expectation, not merely producing one unusually good result.
Practical Use
Use it when a standard, expectation, or required level of performance is increased.
Sports Metaphor
The image is transparent in high jump and pole vault: succeeding at one height leads to the bar being moved higher.
Tone Boundary
Neutral and common in business, sport, and general writing; name the standard when precision matters.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- RAISE THE BAR definition (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Current idiomatic meaning
- When You Raise the Bar, Things Get Hard (opens in a new tab)VOA Learning English · Secondary account linking the idiom to high jump/pole vault and use around the turn of the twentieth century