as in grips
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of handholds
The rock wall offered no handholds, and the waves might easily have beaten us unconscious on the rocks.
—
Jim Hoagland, Outdoor Life, 30 Apr. 2026
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
Jim Hoagland, Outdoor Life, 30 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handholds
Noun
-
As the World Cup grips North America this summer, China will again watch from the sidelines.—
Reagan Yip,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
-
Breakfasts are vast and need a Mimosa to get to grips with.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Through universal intelligent manipulation, the robot autonomously plans grasps, adjusts force in real time, and navigates obstacles using seamless hand–eye coordination.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The Hurricanes needed that to happen after the game nearly slipped out of their grasps.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There were old family photos that needed restoring and jewelry awaiting work like restringing beads or replacing clasps.—
Michael Weissenstein,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
-
There were old family photos that needed restoring and jewelry awaiting work like restringing beads or replacing clasps.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Handholds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handholds. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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