handshake

noun

hand·​shake ˈhan(d)-ˌshāk 

: a clasping usually of right hands by two people (as in greeting or farewell)

Examples of handshake in a Sentence

She greeted him with a handshake.

He has a firm handshake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hydra Head Records may have been built on handshakes, artistic freedom and a healthy disregard for conventional genre boundaries, but keeping the thing running was considerably messier. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Sep. 2026

Indian cricketers have avoided handshakes with Pakistan players and refused to accept the trophy and medals from a Pakistani official at several tournaments. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026

Ask how the inventory reflects the cryptographic configuration of a TLS handshake that happened 10 minutes ago. — Atsushi Yamada, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

There will be, however, a must-see postgame handshake between these two coaches. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing handshake

• golden handshake

Rhymes for handshake

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• forsake
• gouache
• headache
• heartache

Kids Definition

handshake

noun

hand·​shake -ˌshāk 

: a clasping of hands by two people especially in greeting or farewell