upper hand

American  

noun

1. the dominating or controlling position; advantage.

   to have the upper hand in the fight.

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upper hand British  

noun

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

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upper hand Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of upper hand

First recorded in 1475–85

Example Sentences

“Iran’s decisions show they believe they have the upper hand, with Trump deterred from renewing the fighting,” said Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

That allows "suppliers to maintain the upper hand in pricing power", it said, predicting strong annual results for SK hynix in 2026.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

And the Iranians will come into the talks thinking they have the upper hand.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026

But after telling his corner he had hurt his hip, Murphy struggled to defend takedowns like he had before and Evloev gained the upper hand in the closing stages.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

Only Grant versus Lee—and Grant has the upper hand.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly

Related Words

• advantage
• dominance
• leverage
• superiority
• supremacy