upper hand

noun

1. the dominating or controlling position; advantage:

   to have the upper hand in the fight.

upper hand

noun

1. the upper hand
   the position of control; advantage (esp in the phrases have or get the upper hand )

Word History and Origins

Origin of upper hand¹

First recorded in 1475–85

Idioms and Phrases

Also, whip hand . A dominating or controlling position, as in Once you let Jeff get the upper hand there'll be no stopping him , or When it comes to checkers, my son-in-law generally has the whip hand . The first term alludes to an ancient game in which each player in turn grasps a stick with one hand, beginning from the bottom, and the last who can put his hand at the top wins. Its figurative use dates from the late 1400s. The variant alludes to the driver who holds the whip in a horse-drawn vehicle; it was being used figuratively by the late 1600s.

Example Sentences

One Russia commentator suggested Putin might view the current situation as an “in-between” moment that gives him the sense he has the upper hand in Ukraine.

From BBC

With an upper hand over other bacteria lacking similar antibiotic resistance, such bacteria should become dominant.

From Science Daily

And as of early Tuesday, firefighters still had the upper hand against the fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Wales missed 32 tackles, conceded 12 turnovers and 12 penalties and, though they managed 18 successful line-outs, they could not quite gain the upper hand on the scoreboard.

From BBC

Friday, however, at least gives the world's number-one side the chance to regain the upper hand in a rivalry that has transfixed the rugby world in recent years.

From BBC

Related Words

• advantage
• dominance
• leverage
• superiority
• supremacy