whip hand

noun

1
: positive control : advantage
2
: the hand holding the whip in driving

Examples of whip hand in a Sentence

unquestionably the company has the whip hand in negotiations with the labor union
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Microsoft’s whip hand, more than anything, else, comes down to cold hard cash. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 19 Nov. 2023 The failure of the ‘red wave’ to materialize means that an old-fashioned socialist will have the whip hand over health care for the next two years. Joel Zinberg, National Review, 30 Nov. 2022 The media have the whip hand over Democrats, and the results are a horror. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 27 Sep. 2021 Hence, despite Twitter's poison pill and a staggered board, Musk always had the whip hand. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2022 Amazon has been using the cameras to monitor social distancing between workers during the pandemic — just one of the ways in which computers hold the whip hand in this workplace. Sarah O'Connor, Ars Technica, 19 Mar. 2022 In a chilling report released a few weeks ago about Hollywood’s subordinate relationship to Beijing, PEN America described the forces that have given China the whip hand. Rich Lowry, National Review, 9 Sep. 2020 The president will be held responsible for whatever happens, so House Democrats have the whip hand in any negotiation. Ryan Cooper, TheWeek, 17 Mar. 2020 In fact, from the start the EU saw itself as holding whip hand in the talks, convinced that a failure, while bad for both sides, would be worse for the Brits. Laurence Norman, WSJ, 14 Dec. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of whip hand was in 1680

Dictionary Entries Near whip hand

Cite this Entry

“Whip hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whip%20hand. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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