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

Price was handed down a 10-year prison term that will also be followed by five years of supervised release. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025

For all these incidents, the stewards had to go through a hearing with the relevant parties, analyze footage, consult the rulebook and then hand down their rulings — all of which had to be detailed in the FIA’s decision documents system. —Luke Smith, New York Times, 19 June 2025

After a number of fists and game misconducts in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, a further punishment has been handed down. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 11 June 2025

After Selna handed down the sentence, Avenatti seemed to signal to someone in the crowd that another legal action was coming. —Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 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)