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 The charges handed down to both parents each carry a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison, which would run concurrently. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Kristen Stewart and Fiancée Dylan Meyer Have Date Night at Chanel Pre-Oscars Dinner — See Their Looks! Stewart appears on her latest cover for Rolling Stone wearing a white jockstrap and a black leather vest with her hand down the front of the jockstrap. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 And now the country was—for years—steadfastly refusing to pay billions of dollars of judgments handed down by the court. Gregory Makoff, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2024 If this were a ranking of live mascots, the Wizards win hands down. Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Between 2022 and 2045, baby boomers are projected to hand down $72.6 trillion in assets to their heirs, including Generation X and millennials. Crissi Cole, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Kentucky Department of Corrections records show 26 inmates are currently sitting on death row, with the most recent of those sentences handed down in 2014. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024 The court’s ruling, handed down by an 8-to-1 majority, applies only to three couples who were suing a fertility clinic over the accidental destruction of their embryos. Emily Cochrane, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 The sentence, handed down to 49-year-old Jamie Simpson by Kenton County Circuit Court Judge Kate Molloy, matched a recommendation from the jury that found Simpson guilty during his four-day trial in February. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 4 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hand down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hand down was in 1651

Dictionary Entries Near hand down

Cite this Entry

“Hand down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand%20down. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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)

More from Merriam-Webster on hand down

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