as in advantage
the more favorable condition or position in a competition
unquestionably the company has the whip hand in negotiations with the labor union
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Recent Examples of whip hand
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whip hand
Noun
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As industries across manufacturing, energy, and logistics embrace this transformation, the stakes for competitive advantage have never been higher.—
Peter Bendor-Samuel,
Forbes,
18 Feb. 2025
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Another avenue for lawsuits against non-generative AI use is legal protections for trade secrets; trade secrets, which provide a competitive business advantage, are not known or shared with the public and reflect efforts designed to keep information secret.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The dogs crowded at the edge of the cliff, barking around a small piñon that grew from a crack in the rocks.—
Frank C. Hibben,
Outdoor Life,
27 Feb. 2025
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This is important because the solar wind ricochets around the bubble our solar system sits within, known as the heliosphere; the edges of that bubble represent the barrier between our cosmic neighborhood and the rest of the universe.—
Monisha Ravisetti,
Space.com,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Listen to this article GAINESVILLE — Ailing and unable to gain an upper hand on Vanderbilt, No. 6 Florida turned to a 20-year-old sophomore from Slovenia to scratch out a critical SEC win.—
Edgar Thompson,
Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2025
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This history shows that buying territory in the Arctic has been a longstanding practice for geopolitical rivals struggling to gain an upper hand and ensure their own defense.—
James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made by History ,
TIME,
23 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whip hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whip%20hand. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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