hand over

verb

handed over; handing over; hands over

transitive verb

: to yield control of

handover

ˈhan-ˌdō-vər 

noun

Synonyms of hand over

• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• deliver
• turn in
• turn over
• lay down

Examples of hand over in a Sentence

the police officer ordered the suspect to hand over his weapons

in response to a desperate plea, we handed over all our extra blankets and pillows to the homeless shelter

Recent Examples on the Web

The gruesome case of a 20-year-old who was stabbed 130 times and stuffed into a mattress inside a NoDa apartment will be handed over to a jury Friday afternoon. — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026

Meir had been station commander for Expedition 75 and handed over command this past week. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

Tim Cook stepped down as Apple CEO in September, handing over the top job to former hardware chief John Ternus and taking an executive chairman role. — Jay Peters, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026

For example, Air Force Theater Hospital at Joint Base Balad in Iraq was handed over to the Iraqi government in 2011 as part of drawdown efforts. — Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hand over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover

Kids Definition

hand over

verb

: to yield control of