hand down

verb

handed down; handing down; hands down

transitive verb

1

: to transmit in succession (as from father to son)

2

: to make official formulation of and express (the opinion of a court)

Examples of hand down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Under it, a Led Zeppelin T-shirt handed down from my teen-age son, who outgrew it. —Rachel Kushner, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025

The loudest and rowdiest performance of the night, hands down, as predicted by the band on the red carpet, belonged to the Old 97s, following their lifetime achievement award. —Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Sep. 2025

Should the probe uncover a clear attempt by Ballmer to circumvent the league’s salary cap, the punishment handed down by the league will likely be severe. —Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2025

The Leagues Cup and MLS handed down sanctions following the Leagues Cup post-game brawl between Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders, and the Luis Suarez spitting incident postgame. —Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hand down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

hand down

verb

1

: to pass down from older to younger (as from parent to child)

2

: to form and express a judicial decision

Legal Definition

hand down

transitive verb

1

: to deliver (the decision or opinion of an appellate court) to the proper office of an inferior court

2

: to make an official formulation of and announce (the decision of a court)