How to Use upper hand in a Sentence

upper hand

noun
  • But once the game tipped off, Carmel had the upper hand.
    Andy Yamashita, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Dec. 2021
  • As is often the case, the defenders have the upper hand.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 June 2022
  • Regardless, the big studios could have the upper hand for the first time in a while.
    Pat Saperstein, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022
  • The clock was the only thing that stopped the Cougars, who enjoyed the upper hand in a 15-8 fourth quarter, too.
    Indy Star Ai Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Jan. 2023
  • Democrats have the upper hand, pushing out each of the two bills on party-line 9-4 votes.
    Stephen Singer, courant.com, 23 Mar. 2022
  • And Stitt is on the ballot in a year when his party is supposed to have the upper hand.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 1 Nov. 2022
  • My guess is that someone is going to end up with the upper hand.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Sep. 2022
  • On the face of it, Liverpool has the upper hand in this regard too.
    Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022
  • Oregon State had the upper hand for most of the first half in taking a 42-34 halftime lead.
    oregonlive, 20 Mar. 2022
  • One of the chief methods DDoSers use to gain the upper hand is known as reflection.
    Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 28 Oct. 2022
  • In the first of what should be many matchups between Humphrey and Chase, the 6-foot wideout clearly had the upper hand.
    Ryan McFadden, baltimoresun.com, 24 Oct. 2021
  • The Bengals and Joe Burrow boast the upper hand with their offense.
    Mohammad Ahmad, cleveland, 17 Dec. 2022
  • For the first time in memory, workers have the upper hand in the jobs market.
    Christine Romans, CNN, 28 Jan. 2022
  • Lose it for a second, and your opponent will have the upper hand.
    Matt Le Cren, Chicago Tribune, 21 Dec. 2022
  • In the 1990s, the oligarchs had the upper hand with the Kremlin and could even dictate policy at times.
    Stanislav Markus, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2022
  • People know that omicron has the upper hand and cannot be controlled in the near term.
    Joel Achenbach, Fenit Nirappil, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Dec. 2021
  • A week ago, the Cowboys appeared to own the upper hand, alone in first place with four of their final six at home.
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2022
  • Kean lost to Malinowski by a hair in 2020, and new maps give him the upper hand for the rematch.
    Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 11 June 2022
  • But the Nets seemingly have the upper hand in where Durant could go next.
    Dana Scott, USA TODAY, 5 July 2022
  • In many corners of the economy, workers have the upper hand.
    Wsj Staff, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2022
  • The song begs to be ironized—think of the possibilities of a staging that played against the lyrics, letting the girls get the upper hand.
    Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2022
  • The bounty hunter rides the massive and muscular creature to take an upper hand in the fight.
    Carson Burton, Variety, 5 Aug. 2022
  • Both the guards on the train and the Tuskens open fire, but the train has the upper hand thanks to being a moving target and heavily armored.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2022
  • Yet neither side has the ability to gain the upper hand swiftly.
    Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2022
  • The number of job openings may be dropping, but US workers still have the upper hand.
    Nate Dicamillo, Quartz, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Who will have the upper hand in such a fight if the war disappears from page one of Western media?
    CBS News, 29 June 2022
  • Elder had the upper hand last year in the first one, but St. Edward prevailed 6-0 in Cincinnati this time around.
    Jonathan X. Simmons, cleveland, 16 Nov. 2022
  • Despite the threat of altcoins, Ethereum has the upper hand in being first, Georgiades said.
    Fortune, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Arrowhead being the loudest stadium in the world is such an upper hand and such a pleasure to have.
    Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024
  • That economic reliance has given Xi a slight upper hand.
    Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024

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

Last Updated: