upper hand

upper hand
noun
position of advantage and control (Freq. 1)
• Syn: ↑whip hand

* * *

[noun]
control, advantage, ascendancy, edge, mastery, supremacy

* * *

noun

finally got the upper hand of the situation

at first the Liberals held the upper hand — C.L.Jones

2. archaic : the position of honor or authority

* * *

the dominating or controlling position; advantage: to have the upper hand in the fight.
[1475-85]

* * *

upper hand
1. Mastery
2. Advantage
• • •
Main Entry: ↑hand
————————
upper hand noun
Mastery, advantage
• • •
Main Entry: ↑up

* * *

upper hand,
advantage that is or is likely to prove decisive; control; mastery: »

Do what the doctor says or that cold may get the upper hand.

* * *

noun
the upper hand
: the position of having power or being in control in a particular situation

He always has to have the upper hand.

— sometimes used figuratively

The infection was gaining the upper hand [=was becoming worse] and the patient's condition was deteriorating.

* * *

upper hand(ism)
see upper a. 16 (also 2).

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • upper\ hand — • upper hand • whip hand noun Controlling power; advantage. In the third round the champion got the upper hand over his opponent and knocked him out. The cowboy trained the wild horse so that he finally got the whip hand and tamed the horse …   Словарь американских идиом

  • upper hand — If you have the upper hand, you have the advantage …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • upper hand — index advantage, edge (advantage), predominance Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • upper hand — [n] advantage benefit, break, control, dominance, edge, favor, gain, help, improvement, leverage, rule, superiority, supremacy; concept 574 …   New thesaurus

  • upper hand — n. the position of advantage or control …   English World dictionary

  • upper hand — n. control (colloq.) 1) to gain, get; have the upper hand 2) to lose the upper hand 3) the upper hand in; over (we gained the upper hand over them in that contest) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • upper hand —    If you have the upper hand, you have the advantage.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If a person or organization gains or gets the upper hand, especially in a fight or competition, they take control over something.     We increased our… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • upper hand — or[whip hand] {n.} Controlling power; advantage. * /In the third round the champion got the upper hand over his opponent and knocked him out./ * /The cowboy trained the wild horse so that he finally got the whip hand and tamed the horse./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • upper hand — or[whip hand] {n.} Controlling power; advantage. * /In the third round the champion got the upper hand over his opponent and knocked him out./ * /The cowboy trained the wild horse so that he finally got the whip hand and tamed the horse./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • upper hand — noun Date: 15th century mastery, advantage, control < was determined not to let the opposition get the upper hand > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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