Synonyms of hands

hands 1 of 2

noun

plural of hand

1

as in control

the ability to direct the course of something

the final decision is in your hands

Synonyms & Similar Words

• control
• grasp
• arm
• direction
• power
• authority
• management
• grip
• government
• administration
• operation
• supervision
• guidance
• hold
• clutch
• jurisdiction
• command
• helm
• mastery
• dominion
• running
• regulation
• domination
• might
• sway
• governance
• oversight
• superintendence

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• weakness
• helplessness
• powerlessness
• impotence
• impotency

2

as in enjoyment

the fact or state of having (something) at one's disposal

I'd like to get my hands on that vintage Cadillac convertible

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enjoyment
• control
• possession
• keeping
• ownership
• power
• dominion
• proprietorship
• mastery
• retention
• confiscation
• command
• claiming
• procurement
• authority
• repossession
• commandeering
• collaring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relinquishment
• surrendering
• dispossession
• nonpossession
• transferal

hands

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hand

1

as in provides

to put (something) into the possession of someone for use or consumption

was happy to hand her grandmother's cookie recipes to the parish ladies to put in their cookbook

Synonyms & Similar Words

• provides
• supplies
• gives
• feeds
• furnishes
• delivers
• distributes
• hands over
• portions
• dispenses
• deals (out)
• transfers
• plies (with)
• apportions
• administers
• doles out
• allocates
• deeds
• parcels (out)
• assigns
• metes (out)
• prorates
• cedes
• makes over

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• holds (back)
• keeps (back)
• retains
• reserves
• maintains
• saves
• withholds
• preserves
• conserves
• keeps up

2

as in passes

to shift possession of (something) from one person to another

the clerk handed her the receipt

Synonyms & Similar Words

• passes
• reaches
• transfers
• fingers
• gives
• hands over
• bucks
• carries
• paws
• handles
• relays
• renders
• yields
• delivers
• releases
• bears
• gives up
• surrenders
• relinquishes
• turns over
• cedes

3

as in leaves

to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another

handed me her bundles while she fished for her house keys

Synonyms & Similar Words

• leaves
• transfers
• delegates
• gives
• entrusts
• passes
• delivers
• relinquishes
• trusts
• reposes
• vests
• grants
• turns over
• recommends
• loans
• commends
• confides
• hands over
• commits
• transmits
• consigns
• gives over
• lends
• submits
• supplies
• distributes
• bequeaths
• deals (out)
• assigns
• confers
• divides
• wills
• dispenses
• turns in
• hands in
• surrenders
• yields
• releases
• furnishes
• advances
• hands down
• hands on
• disperses
• redelivers
• retransfers
• recommits
• retransmits

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• holds
• keeps
• retains
• owns
• reserves
• possesses
• receives
• takes
• holds back
• accepts
• withholds
• takes in
• occupies
• detains
• takes over

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hands

Noun

The video shows four deputies running after Garza along Interstate 10 in Palm Springs, with Garza facing the deputies several times while holding an object in his hands. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Alaska’s bid for statehood, in the late nineteen-fifties, was in part a matter of keeping the hands of Seattle businessmen off local salmon stocks. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026

An employee washed hands without drying them with paper towels. — Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026

The actors interacted with clay during the presentation, building large feet, hands and noses before turning the stage over to athletes who wore the brand and gyrated around the space and performed gymnastics-style moves on a rack. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026

During last weekend’s riots, at least two people died and multiple others suffered serious injuries, including two people who lost their hands. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Better now than when the self-image of a child is wet clay in his hands. — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026

Call it a day if the tables turn cold while playing SEVEN hands. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

These tools take the task out of your developers’ hands and put it in your product team’s, who may not be coders or have access to the codebase. — Osman Koc, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Verb

At their on-screen meet cute, Apatow hands Bamford $500 cash just to pitch her on her own documentary. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026

Every task a person hands to an agent is another chance for something to go wrong. — Anat Lior, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026

Losing the ability to fly fast drones, by contrast, hurts Ukraine right now—and hands Russia an immediate advantage in the skies. — Steven John, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026

So the company hires a strong operator, hands them a title and waits to see what happens. — Ken Paskins, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

If a retreat hands you a personalized microbiome report, treat it as an interesting snapshot, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026

The complaint states that the friend hands Doe a beer, dances with her in the main room of the house, then pulls her off to a quieter area and propositions her with having a threesome with him and one of his fraternity brothers. — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hands the ball off to Walker who begins to scamper to the left. — Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

The School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play all but hands us an instruction manual. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Phrases Containing hands

• hands down
• laying on of hands
• on all hands
• wash one's hands of