How to Use upper hand in a Sentence

upper hand

noun
Definition of upper handnext
Synonyms for upper handnext
  • Trust no one, grapple for the upper hand, maximize the margins.
    — Stephen Lurie, The Atlantic, 26 Aug. 2021
  • On the Ravens’ next possession, Huntley was able to get the upper hand.
    — Ryan McFadden, baltimoresun.com, 15 Aug. 2021
  • For the time being, employees seem to have the upper hand, labor market experts say.
    — NBC News, 18 Aug. 2021
  • The pork is less a garnish, like bacon, and more like an equal partner in the burger, neither protein gaining the upper hand.
    — Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
  • It could be argued that the defense gained the upper hand Monday, but the unit also drew more penalty flags than the offense.
    — Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, 9 Aug. 2021
  • Then, the station master’s counsel seized the upper hand by requesting a jury trial.
    — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2021
  • That’s typically how good teams look during camp – the defense has the upper hand in frustrating the offense.
    — oregonlive, 5 Aug. 2021
  • While Tile’s versatility may have the upper hand, its security features don’t come close to what Apple bakes in.
    — Hunter Fenollol, Popular Mechanics, 25 Aug. 2021
  • With no state school board to report to, and parents who have yet to figure out alternate ways to funnel their children into top colleges, private schools—for now, anyway—have the upper hand.
    — Nicole Laporte, Town & Country, 27 Aug. 2021
  • Tactically, Abbott’s had the upper hand in the summer-long election bill battle, said Jones, the Rice professor.
    — Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, 30 Aug. 2021
  • But once the game tipped off, Carmel had the upper hand.
    — Andy Yamashita, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Dec. 2021
  • The defense had the upper hand, but the offense has big tools in tackle-breaking running backs Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa — and those weren’t used.
    — Norma Gonzalez, The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 Aug. 2021
  • In the land of light beer, Karbach may have a slight upper hand.
    — Abigail Rosenthal, Chron, 7 Sep. 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
  • 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.

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