Uphand

adj, adv, noun, verb

adj, adv, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The upper hand. obsolete, uncountable

    "Such monsters as these have all been, Our fathers and mothers have known : If that they should get the uphand, Us Protestants they would all smother"

Verb
  1. 1
    To lift with an upward movement of the hands.

    "To high heaven, all so softly, / The angels uphand him; / In meads of May flowers / Mild Mary will meet him: […]"

  2. 2
    To strike from below with the hand or fist.

    "Before he had hit, she sprang upright, feinted so that Gull's quick blow whooshed harmlessly past her cheek, and uphanded his chin, stunning him and sending him reeling against Kayser, who had stepped back."

  3. 3
    To uphold, promote, or sustain.

    "Aweel, Jock, I'se no say but we've had mony an up an mony a doon i' life, but there's ae comfort whilk uphands me aboon ilka ither thocht, an its e'en this: Ye married yer Elsie, Jock, frae doonright sheer love an naething mair nor less, an Elsie gae her hail heart an its life's bluid to ye whan she gae'd awa her hond."

  4. 4
    To raise the hands.

    "But the whole thirty-three uphanded and cried, “Mercy, Kamerad '""

Adjective
  1. 1
    Designed to be lifted by the hand, or by both hands not-comparable, rare

    "the uphand sledge"

  2. 2
    With an upward movement of the hand. not-comparable

    "Girzie, when in her barleyhoods, was apt to enforce her commands with uphand emphases, and Andrew came in for a due share of this practical elocution, and always proved himself as quiet and submissive a disciple as ever fell under a "continual dropping," since the days of the man of Uz."

  3. 3
    Starting from the bottom and working upwards not-comparable

    "Downhand welding is preferable to uphand welding as it insures better fusion and greater speed."

  4. 4
    Characterized by pushing upwards with a hand or hands. not-comparable

    "A man to roll rubber off from that, I think, would find rather an uphand business — pushing his hands against the rubber."

  5. 5
    Enriched; fertile. not-comparable, rare

    "My land is uphand black loam, which I value at fifty dollars per acre, and three crops is the most I have grown consecutively on the same ground."

Adverb
  1. 1
    From bottom to top. not-comparable

    "One hundred per cent penetration can be obtained by welding in a slight vertical weld uphand on metal up to eight gages."

  2. 2
    Moved by hand in an upward direction. not-comparable

    "As by a leaf to fling On the glass of wind Or up transparent leaf-sides over and over Uphand to swing Into the airy sockets of light And the broad plates tread like a bird Kissing light."

Example

More examples

"Girzie, when in her barleyhoods, was apt to enforce her commands with uphand emphases, and Andrew came in for a due share of this practical elocution, and always proved himself as quiet and submissive a disciple as ever fell under a "continual dropping," since the days of the man of Uz."

Etymology

From up- + hand.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.