hand up

verb

handed up; handing up; hands up

transitive verb

of a jury
: to deliver (an indictment) to a judge or higher judicial authority

Examples of hand up 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.
The front seven was continuously getting their hands up to block Nix’s passes. Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2025 Deablo read Knox’s eyes and got his hands up in time to knock the pass away with his back turned to the quarterback. Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 The thing to do then is not to throw your hands up in despair, but to analyze what has gone wrong, and fix it. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025 The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in Maryland, charges Bolton with eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information. Pierre Thomas, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hand up

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hand up was in 1970

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hand up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand%20up. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

Legal Definition

hand up

transitive verb
: to deliver (an indictment) to a judge or higher judicial authority
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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