Synonyms of handholds

handholds

noun

plural of handhold

as in grips

the act or manner of holding

she tried to maintain her tight handhold on the umbrella as the wind picked up

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grips
• grasps
• clasps
• handgrips
• holds
• footholds
• anchorages
• clenches
• purchases
• grapples
• grabs
• seizures
• hugs
• toeholds
• footings
• leverages
• embraces
• clinches

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• releases
• relinquishments

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of handholds

The other was the rescue of two women who cliffed out on the famous Via Ferrata in Telluride where there are cables and handholds along with iron rungs. — Alan Gionet, CBS News, 18 June 2026

In several photos and videos posted on social media, the 30-year-old can be seen descending the sheer face of the crater and gripping handholds while performing various acrobatic tricks before falling into the volcanic waters below. — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 15 June 2026

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