Word.ws English Dictionary

dead man's handles

dead man's handles is the plural of dead man's handle.

Meaning of dead man's handle

Noun

dead man's handle (plural dead man's handles)

  1. A lever used as a safety device, typically on trains, which shuts off power if the operator releases their grip.
    • Dead-man's handle, automatic train stop, quick-acting compressed-air brake specially suited for high-speed working, and regenerative braking are among the features of the new locomotives.1947 March and April, “Swiss High-Speed Electric Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 94

Questions about dead man's handles

What is dead man's handles the plural of?
Dead man's handles is the plural of dead man's handle.

Words near dead man's handles in the dictionary

  1. dead man's fingers
  2. dead man's float
  3. dead man's floats
  4. dead man's hand
  5. dead man's handle
  6. dead man's handles
  7. dead man's penny
  8. dead man's rope
  9. dead man's switch
  10. dead man's switches
  11. dead march

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dead man's handles (page history and authors); dead man's handle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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