: using the hands in an unusually active or noticeable manner
a handsy golf swing
With Ricky Rubio being such a nuisance as a defender, the Wolves have the luxury of a quick, handsy … point guard who can bother the rest of the opposing point guards in the NBA.CBS Sports.com
often : using the hands to touch another person in an aggressively sexual way
A handsy boss, who has no filter and no fear of offending, is a staple of old movies and shows like Mad Men. Karol Markowicz
She's found herself standing in elevators at tech conferences late at night when a guy would decide to get, as she puts it, handsy. Liza Mundy

Examples of handsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Brooklyn got a little too handsy, the free throws piled up, and Miami’s 7-for-8 start at the line was the difference in a quarter where the Heat shot 48% and still carried a 34-28 lead. C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026 UConn started the game just 3-for-12 from the field and fell into a four-minute scoring drought as the Pirates, aggressive and handsy on the defensive end, took a 14-11 lead around the 10-minute mark. Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 28 Feb. 2026 Next door, at the nearly pitch-black bar Nothing Really Matters, a pair of court officers knocked back tomato martinis as a couple got handsy over pilsners a few seats down. The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025 The Nuggets spent training camp and the preseason declaring their goal to be more handsy and aggressive defensively this season, to force the referees to call fouls like Oklahoma City does so effectively. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025 All of a sudden, Rocky gets handsy and pushes her face, prompting her husband to reach out and move his hand away. Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025 The handsy thief also helped himself to the watch on my wrist. Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025 And the season even got started on a villain edit with Nicole, already overly handsy with Mel in front of the other women. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025 Bryan addresses cheating allegations While discussing where the couples' stand after July's season finale, Andy asked Bryan about the cheating allegations floating from a TikTok video of him hosting a party and allegedly getting handsy with another woman. Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of handsy was in 1946

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Handsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handsy. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.

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