Word.ws English Dictionary

giving someone a hand

giving someone a hand is the present participle and gerund of give someone a hand.

Meaning of give someone a hand

Verb

give someone a hand (third-person singular simple present gives someone a hand, present participle giving someone a hand, simple past gave someone a hand, past participle given someone a hand)

  1. (idiomatic) To help, aid, or assist.
    • Could you please give me a hand carrying this mattress?
  2. (idiomatic) To applaud or clap (also to give (someone) a big hand).
    • Please give all our dedicated volunteers a hand for their hard work.

Questions about giving someone a hand

What is giving someone a hand the present participle and gerund of?
Giving someone a hand is the present participle and gerund of give someone a hand.

Words near giving someone a hand in the dictionary

  1. giving rise to
  2. giving somebody time
  3. giving someone a big head
  4. giving someone a bloody nose
  5. giving someone a break
  6. giving someone a hand
  7. giving someone a hard time
  8. giving someone a lift
  9. giving someone a piece of one's mind
  10. giving someone a ring
  11. giving someone a shout

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: giving someone a hand (page history and authors); give someone a hand (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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Cite this entry: “giving someone a hand.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/giving_someone_a_hand. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.