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
  • The side with the upper hand may change, but the battle persists.
    Noam Cohen, Wired, 28 June 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
  • In the short term, and in select areas, that still presents renters with the upper hand.
    Noah Kirsch, Forbes, 10 June 2021
  • 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
  • Many more had been planned in the days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, as a way to gain an upper hand.
    From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 9 June 2021
  • My guess is that someone is going to end up with the upper hand.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Sep. 2022
  • This time, the third-seeded Wolverines (22-0) got the upper hand.
    BostonGlobe.com, 27 June 2021
  • 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
  • Eventually, Gi-hun gets the upper hand, and has Sang-woo pinned to the ground, knife in hand.
    Quinci Legardye, Marie Claire, 24 Sep. 2021
  • On the Ravens’ next possession, Huntley was able to get the upper hand.
    Ryan McFadden, baltimoresun.com, 15 Aug. 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
  • Djokovic looked drained early, and the 22-year-old Tsitsipas had the upper hand for two sets.
    BostonGlobe.com, 13 June 2021
  • 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
  • But in this regard, Lopez may still be hoping to maintain an upper hand.
    Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
  • For games with winning chances of 50 percent or worse, there is no betting strategy that secures an upper hand in a finite world.
    Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2023

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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