Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to describe something that is above something else.
There is a smart restaurant on the ~ floor...
Students travel the cheap lower deck and tourists the ~.
? lower
ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ
2.
You use ~ to describe the higher part of something.
...the ~ part of the foot.
...the ~ rungs of the ladder.
? lower
ADJ: ADJ n
3.
If you have the ~ hand in a situation, you have more power than the other people involved and can make decisions about what happens.
The government was beginning to gain the ~ hand...
It was easy to see who had the ~ hand.
PHRASE: PHR after v
4.
The ~ of a shoe is the top part of it, which is attached to the sole and the heel.
Leather ~s allow the feet to breathe.
N-COUNT: usu pl