Raises the ante is a phrase that means to increase the stakes or risk in a situation. It is often used in card games, such as poker, where players can raise the amount of money they are betting on a hand. The term can also be used in other contexts, such as business negotiations, where one party may raise the stakes by making a higher offer than the other. In this case, the crossword solution for the term is UPS, which stands for United Parcel Service, a package delivery company.