as in grip
the act or manner of holding
she tried to maintain her tight handhold on the umbrella as the wind picked up
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Recent Examples of handhold
Making his way blindly back around the jagged metal shard, moving along the side of the Gemini—finding the handholds and Velcro and the ship’s aft cable without the benefit of vision, all the while battling to keep his heart rate under control—was no small thing.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
That would cut off access to the narrow gaps between train cars where subway surfers use handholds to hoist themselves onto the roof.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
Instead of using natural handholds in the rock, via ferrata climbers move almost exclusively using artificial hardware drilled into the rock face, such as chains, cables, bridges, and ladders, and are attached to these fixtures via a tether and harness at all times.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 29 Sep. 2025
The steep route is laced with a via Ferrata—the system, invented in the Dolomites, of metal handholds, footholds, and cables that climbers can clip into and follow all the way up.
—Darrell Hartman, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for handhold
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
That would cut off access to the narrow gaps between train cars where subway surfers use handholds to hoist themselves onto the roof.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
Instead of using natural handholds in the rock, via ferrata climbers move almost exclusively using artificial hardware drilled into the rock face, such as chains, cables, bridges, and ladders, and are attached to these fixtures via a tether and harness at all times.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 29 Sep. 2025
The steep route is laced with a via Ferrata—the system, invented in the Dolomites, of metal handholds, footholds, and cables that climbers can clip into and follow all the way up.
—Darrell Hartman, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for handhold
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handhold
Noun
-
India is already in the grip of a severe heatwave, and nearly 60% of its farming relies on rainfall.—
Sri Jegarajah,Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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The three Republicans vying to break Colorado Democrats’ grip on the governor’s mansion finally shared a stage Tuesday night for an hour that was light on policy but was full of questions and answers that likely have never been heard on a debate stage before.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Consumers without a grasp of the basics may struggle to distinguish good advice from bad.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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The ball rolled away from his grasp and Duran was safe at first as Texas had two runners on base against Royals starter Seth Lugo.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Handhold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handhold. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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