Idioms

the upper hand

This page is about the idiom the upper hand

Meaning

If you have the upper hand, you have the advantage or you're in the stronger position in a contest or a conflict.

For example

  • With one race to go, the Ferrari team has the upper hand. If they get one of the top three places in the last race, they'll win this year's title.

  • For many years Yahoo was the top search engine, but for the last few years Google has had the upper hand.

Quick Quiz

With three weeks to go until the election, the Democrats have the upper hand. If things stay like this, they'll

a. lose the election

b. win the election

c. contest the election
a) lose the election b) win the election c) contest the election

See Idiom of the Day today

Contributor: Matt Errey