as in advantage
the more favorable condition or position in a competition
finally gained the upper hand in the argument
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Recent Examples of upper hand
Both processors were competitive, and neither gained a drastic upper hand, save for some specific tasks.
—
PC Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
His quickness often gives him an upper hand to wall off lanes or square off rushers (zero sacks allowed).
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Winged munition autonomously detects moving targets Raytheon also highlighted that the StormBreaker smart weapon gives operators an upper hand in combat by hitting moving targets in some of the worst weather conditions.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
The Northern Sea Route is generally viewed as more developed and regulated, with Moscow investing heavily in infrastructure as part of a broader campaign to gain an upper hand in the Arctic.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upper hand
PC Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
His quickness often gives him an upper hand to wall off lanes or square off rushers (zero sacks allowed).
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Winged munition autonomously detects moving targets Raytheon also highlighted that the StormBreaker smart weapon gives operators an upper hand in combat by hitting moving targets in some of the worst weather conditions.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
The Northern Sea Route is generally viewed as more developed and regulated, with Moscow investing heavily in infrastructure as part of a broader campaign to gain an upper hand in the Arctic.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upper hand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upper hand
Noun
-
After killing a penalty early in the middle frame, Minnesota pulled even with another man-advantage goal when Joel Eriksson Ek snapped in the rebound of a Kaprizov shot.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Perry dribbled into a 15-footer in the short corner to help UCLA build a double-digit advantage at halftime.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Its Blackwell architecture sets the standard for raw performance, and its software ecosystem with CUDA remains a formidable competitive edge.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Yang Minghan, a crew member of the Zunyi, said in the report that the Type 055 is a new-type destroyer equipped with a host of advanced new systems, boasting cutting-edge performance.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
On the road - Drive in the middle lanes and stay on high ground.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
-
On the road - Drive in the middle lanes and stay on high ground.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upper hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upper%20hand. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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