How to Use have a leg up in a Sentence

have a leg up

idiom
Definition of have a leg upnext
  • Anybody who can get a win in any of those places is going to have a leg up.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2023
  • The winner, however, will have a leg up in a two-team race — and these teams meet again at the end of the month.
    — Barry Wilner, Star Tribune, 11 Nov. 2020
  • All else held equal, this variant will have a leg up on its kin, and may outcompete them.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 June 2021
  • The twins took an official visit to the school this weekend and the Panthers look to have a leg up on the other two offers.
    — Chris Hays, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Jan. 2023
  • And members have a leg up on winning passage of their own spending bills.
    — George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2022
  • That means men may well have a leg up in their careers if negative feedback tends to bounce right off of them.
    — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 23 Nov. 2021
  • Whichever team wins will have a leg up in the race for a playoff spot as both teams currently sit on the outside of the seven seeds in the AFC.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 19 Dec. 2021
  • So the Bears might have a leg up in terms of experience over the relatively green Huskies.
    — Lori Riley, courant.com, 25 Mar. 2021
  • So where do Oru’s origami ‘yaks have a leg up on inflatable options?
    — Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2023
  • Kids who perform well on a test on the first go, or who routinely turn in assignments on time, often have a leg up.
    — Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2021
  • Computer science is a viable career path and Black children will have a leg up in it thanks to a new program.
    — Jasmine Browley, Essence, 29 Sep. 2023
  • But for the time being, humans have a leg up in some areas, such as handling delicate objects.
    — Washington Post, 22 Apr. 2021
  • The team that can establish its running game will have a leg up in this meeting of former North Coast League teams that did not play in the regular season.
    — Matt Goul, cleveland, 21 Oct. 2020
  • The Warriors and Celtics both have multiple wings who can switch and guard their man, but the team that can take advantage of the better matchups on switches will have a leg up in this series.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 1 June 2022
  • Futu may have a leg up in the city-state given Singapore’s lag in digital trading.
    — Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 20 May 2021
  • Emmet feels musicians and singers have a leg up in understanding the nuances of a language.
    — Amanda Florian, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2021
  • The bears in southeast Greenland do have a leg up in their difficult habitat, however.
    — Doug Johnson, Ars Technica, 21 June 2022
  • The gig economy that expanded along with the rise in on-demand services seemed to have a leg up on retail hourly jobs for a while, but those jobs aren’t for everyone.
    — Maria Halkias, Dallas News, 4 Aug. 2021
  • Competition or not, the new girls definitely have a leg up.
    — Aurelie Corinthios, PEOPLE.com, 22 Sep. 2020
  • With a history of working at a hardware store, and fluency in Spanish, the sisters may have a leg up on some of the competition.
    — Kelly Wynne, PEOPLE.com, 10 Dec. 2021
  • If support from Trump is important in the Republican primary, then Oz may have a leg up.
    — Marc Levy, ajc, 1 Dec. 2021
  • But scientists and officials in Maryland say residents here may have a leg up on the latest threat, known as omicron.
    — Meredith Cohn, baltimoresun.com, 30 Nov. 2021
  • The Republican winner is expected to have a leg up in the November election.
    — Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 3 May 2022
  • Instagram is betting that by porting over its current social graphs, Threads will have a leg up on those nascent competitors.
    — Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 July 2023
  • Considering that many companies aren’t equipped with the resources to handle the skills gap, the Gen Zers who do teach themselves digital skills will likely have a leg up in the job search over those who don’t.
    — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 2 Feb. 2023
  • Hopkins thinks one way real bartenders have a leg up is through human interaction.
    — Emma Balter, Chron, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Streaming services angling to become one stop shops for all of subscribers' entertainment needs will have a leg up during a shakeout.
    — Fortune, 19 Apr. 2021
  • That means if your out-of-work neighbor lands a job or your college-graduate child lands a position tied to their degree, the incumbent governor on the ballot may have a leg up.
    — Lisa Donovan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2021
  • The country’s sheep farmers, however, may have a leg up on other businesses that are just as stunned by the pending regulation.
    — Byian Mount, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2022
  • Osaka, the pride of Japan who spent much of her childhood in Florida, would appear to have a leg up on the rest of her competition in an increasingly deep women’s game.
    — New York Times, 20 Feb. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'have a leg up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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