hand

1 of 3

noun

ˈhand

often attributive

Synonyms of hand next

a(1)

: the terminal part of the vertebrate forelimb when modified (as in humans) as a grasping organ : the body part at the end of the arm of a human, ape, or monkey

holding a pair of scissors in his hand

She put her hands over her eyes.

(2)

: the forelimb segment (such as the terminal section of a bird's wing) of a vertebrate higher than the fishes that corresponds to the hand irrespective of its form or functional specialization

: something resembling a hand: such as

(1)

: an indicator or pointer on a dial

the hands of a clock

(2)

: a character ☞ used to direct particular attention (as to a note or paragraph) : fist, index

(3)

: a cluster of bananas developed from a single flower group

(4)

: a branched rootstock of ginger

(5)

: a bunch of large leaves (as of tobacco) tied together usually with another leaf

: a part serving the function of or resembling a hand: such as

(1)

: the hind foot of an ape

(2)

: the chela of a crustacean

: personal possession

—usually used in plural

The documents fell into the hands of the enemy.

: control, supervision

—usually used in plural

left the matter in her hands

: one of two sides or aspects of an issue or argument

On the one hand we can appeal for peace, and on the other, declare war.

: side, direction

soldiers fighting on either hand

: assistance or aid especially involving physical effort

lend a hand

: participation, interest

had no hand in the decision

: a round of applause

Let's give them a big hand.

: skill, ability

tried her hand at sailing

: an instrumental part

had a hand in the victory

: a pledge especially of betrothal or bestowal in marriage

He asked for her hand in marriage.

a(1)

: the cards or pieces held by a player

studied her hand

(2)

: a player in a card game or board game

: a single round in a game

lost the first hand but won the next two

: the force or solidity of one's position (as in negotiations)

trying to strengthen their hand

a(1)

: a person employed at manual labor or general tasks

a ranch hand

(2)

: worker, employee

employed over a hundred hands

: a member of a ship's crew

All hands on deck!

: a person who performs or executes a particular work

two portraits by the same hand

: a person skilled in a particular action or pursuit

a great hand at carpentry

: a specialist or veteran in a usually designated activity or region

a Latin America hand

: style of execution : workmanship

the hand of a master

: handiwork, doings

the hand of vandals

: the feel of or tactile reaction to something (such as silk or leather)

: style of penmanship : handwriting

wrote in a fancy hand

: signature

: a unit of measure equal to 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) used especially for the height of horses

a horse that is 15 hands high

: a punch made with a specified hand

knocked him out with a good right hand

hand

2 of 3

verb

handed; handing; hands

transitive verb

: to give, pass, or transmit with the hand

hand a letter to her

: to present or provide with

handed him a surprise

: to lead, guide, or assist with the hand

hand a lady into a bus

: furl

hand the sail

obsolete : to touch or manage with the hands

also : to deal with

hand

3 of 3

adverb

: with the hands rather than by machine

hand stitched

Phrases

at hand

: near in time or place : within reach

use whatever ingredients are at hand

: currently receiving or deserving attention

the business at hand

at the hands of or less commonly at the hand of

: by or through the action of

suffering at the hands of a cruel dictator

by hand

: with the hands or a hand-worked implement (such as a tool or pen) rather than with a machine

: from one individual directly to another

deliver the document by hand

in hand

: in one's possession or control

had matters well in hand

with money in hand

: in preparation

a new play in hand

: under consideration

took the matter in hand

on all hands or on every hand

: everywhere

could hear scurrying noises on all hands

on hand

: in present possession or readily available

kept supplies on hand

: in attendance : present

A priest was on hand to console them.

: about to appear : pending

There was trouble on hand.

on one's hands

: in one's possession or care

too much time on my hands

out of hand

: out of control

They let the situation get out of hand.

: without delay or deliberation

also : in a summary or peremptory manner

rejected the plan out of hand

: done with : finished

: with the hands

fruit eaten out of hand

to hand

: within reach

weapons ready to hand

: into possession

The letter … has come to hand …—

George Washington

hand it to

: to give credit to : concede the excellence of

I have to hand it to him. He did a wonderful job.

Example Sentences

Noun These gloves will keep your hands warm. She put her hands over her eyes. He sat quietly with his hands folded in his lap. Do you need a hand? Verb was happy to hand her grandmother's cookie recipes to the parish ladies to put in their cookbook the clerk handed her the receipt See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With new evidence in hand, Esperio, the company that manufactures Nexletol, will be able to seek permission to update drug labels to include the benefit of lowering heart disease risk. —

Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 22 Mar. 2023 Women may want to have cute coordinating rainboots on hand and men can also find waterproof versions of their more formal footwear. —

Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 22 Mar. 2023 John Wick: Chapter 4 has been welcomed positively by critics and audiences, including cinemagoers at this year's SXSW in Austin where Stahelski and Reeves were on hand to witness the reception. —

Clark Collis, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2023 More than 350 exhibitors will be on hand to talk (and show) home, lawn and garden improvement ideas. —

Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2023 The handle is smooth and thick with rounded edges and is comfortable in the hand. —

Nicole Papantoniou And Sarah Wharton, Good Housekeeping, 21 Mar. 2023 On one hand, Rodriguez is clearly one of the Orioles’ five most talented starters. —

Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 21 Mar. 2023 In front of personnel from all 32 NFL teams — most on hand to evaluate Auburn’s prospects in next month’s draft — Cam Newton completed 28-of-34 pass attempts during Auburn’s pro day while throwing passes primarily to Caylin Newton and Jackson. —

Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 21 Mar. 2023 On one hand, posting random jokes on social media is pretty much the norm these days. —

Kelsey Mulvey, House Beautiful, 21 Mar. 2023

Verb

Early in the pilot, Tom tries to hand his still-unrevealed gift to Brian Cox’s Logan, who ignores the gesture. —

Seyward Darby, Longreads, 21 Mar. 2023 Folga got up out of his seat to hand Trunco a piece of paper and was immediately asked to sit back down. —

Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2023 Once a winner confirms that the information on their plaque is correct, the engraver drills on their personal plate, give Mr. Oscar a quick polish, and hand it back to them. —

Kelsey Mulvey, House Beautiful, 14 Mar. 2023 Impervious to hand sanitizers and able to remain infectious outside the body for weeks, the notoriously unpleasant gastrointestinal virus can strike any time of year, but cases tend to peak in the Northern Hemisphere between November and April. —

Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023 But were the events legit in the eyes of the film academy, which enforces how and when Oscar hopefuls get to woo the figures that hand them golden trophies? —

Matt Donnelly, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023 Cut enough departments, lose enough middle managers, hand it over to artificial intelligence, and the cheers from Wall Street just might drown out the uncomfortable realization that the same strategy for apps is now being applied to human capital. —

Lauren Goode, WIRED, 11 Mar. 2023 Seattle Pacific used a season-high 60.5 shooting percentage from the field to hand UAA a decisive 69-65 defeat, preventing the Seawolves from advancing to the semifinal round. —

Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Mar. 2023 When it is done, detectives will hand the case over to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecutors to determine whether to file criminal charges in Rupard’s death. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2023

Adverb

And putting money in people’s pockets goes hand-in-hand with social distancing policies, by defraying some of the costs of closing non-essential businesses, which in turn threatens the reliable paychecks of thousands of workers. —

Ben Adler, The New Republic, 13 Apr. 2020 The two phenomena go hand-in-hand: The Arctic Oscillation is positive because the polar vortex is strong. —

Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2020 The developments come a day after the managers hand-delivered the articles of impeachment, adopted by the House in December, to the Senate after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., signed them in a historic engrossment ceremony. —

NBC News, 16 Jan. 2020 One shop sold stuffed toys made to look hand-woven, as if a wry old local was out back sewing Ewok dolls. —

BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2019 His vision is carried on by three generations of his family who hand-pick grapes to make homemade wine. —

Verna Gates, al, 19 Sep. 2019 Food that’s healthy for people and healthy for the environment go hand-in-hand. —

Anne Schamberg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2019 For the next election, all of L.A. County will be ditching the previous system where voters hand-marked ballots for a system where computers will aid in the marking process. —

Lila Seidman, Glendale News-Press, 3 Oct. 2019 Half the fun is perusing the lengthy cocktail list, designed to look hand-scrawled and presented in a small binder. —

Paul Hodgins, Daily Pilot, 25 Sep. 2019 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hand.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Verb, and Adverb

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German hant hand

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3b

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of hand was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hand

1 of 2 noun

ˈhand

: the free end part of the arm or forelimb when used (as in human beings) for handling, grasping, and holding

: any of various bodily parts (as the hind foot of an ape or the pincers of a crab) that are like the hand in structure or function

: something resembling a hand: as

: a pointer on a dial

: a figure of a hand with index finger extended to point something out

: a bunch of bananas

: personal possession : control

in the hands of the enemy

: side entry 1 sense 2, direction

fighting on either hand

: a side or point of view in an issue or argument

on the one hand, we can declare a tie, or on the other hand, keep playing

: a pledge especially of marriage

asked for her hand

: handwriting sense 2

: skill sense 1, ability

try one's hand at chess

: assistance or help involving physical effort

lend a hand

: a part or share in doing something

take a hand in the work

: a unit of measure equal to 4 inches (about 10.2 centimeters) used especially for the height of horses

: a round of applause

give him a hand

: the cards or pieces held by a player in a game

: a single round in a game

: one who performs or produces a work

two portraits by the same hand

: a hired worker

: a member of a ship's crew

all hands on deck

: one skilled in a particular activity or field

an old hand at foreign affairs

: workmanship sense 2

the hand of a master

hand

2 of 2 verb

: to guide or assist with the hand

: to give or pass with or as if with the hand

hand a person a letter

Medical Definition

hand

noun

ˈhand

often attributive

a(1)

: the terminal part of the vertebrate forelimb when modified (as in humans) as a grasping organ

(2)

: the forelimb segment (as the terminal section of a bird's wing) of a vertebrate higher than the fishes that corresponds to the hand irrespective of its form or functional specialization

: a part serving the function of or resembling a hand

especially : the hind foot of an ape

: something resembling a hand

especially : an indicator or pointer on a dial

: a unit of measure equal to 4 inches or 10.2 centimeters used especially for the height of horses