Word.ws English Dictionary

hand

/hænd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/hand/

hand noun: the part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in humans and other primates, and the corresponding part in many other animals.

hand: the part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in humans and other primates, and the...
Image: JustCurious, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

hand (plural hands)

  1. The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in humans and other primates, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
    • Her hands are really strong.
    • I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    manus, mound, mund, paw
  2. A limb of certain animals, such as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey.
  3. An index or pointer on a dial; such as the hour and minute hands on the face of an analog clock, which are used to indicate the time of day.
    • I hear the clock a'ticking on the mantel shelf / See the hands a'moving, but I'm by myself1968, Ringo Starr, “Don't Pass Me By”, performed by The Beatles
  4. The set of cards held by a player.
  5. A round of a card game.
  6. (tobacco manufacturing) A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.
  7. (collective) A bunch of bananas, a typical retail amount, where individual fruits are fingers.
  8. Four inches, a hand's breadth.
    • Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter I, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962...
  9. (obsolete) Three inches.
  10. A side; part, camp; direction, either right or left.
    • […]on this hand and that hand were hangings[…]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 38:15, column 1
    • For that the Proteſtants were then on the winning hand, it muſt needs be plain; who notwithſtanding the miſs of thoſe Forces which, at thir landing heer, maiſter’d without difficulty great part of Wales and Cheſhire, yet made a ſhift to keep thir ownw in Ireland.1649, J[ohn] Milton, “Upon the Rebellion in Ireland”, in ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 125
  11. Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.
    • My friend Will Honeycomb has told me, for above this half year, that he had a great mind to try his hand at a Spectator, and that he would fain have one of his writing in my works.1712 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “WEDNESDAY, October 2, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 499; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […]...
    • The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the Fence couldn't swear he knew his face.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 6
  12. (especially, in-compounds) An agent; a servant, or manual laborer; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty.
    • Large farms need many farm hands.
    • But a Dictionary of this ſort, containing, as it were, a Natural Hiſtory, requires too many hands, as well as too much time, coſt, pains, and ſagacity, ever to be hoped for; and till that be done, we muſt content our ſelves with ſuch Definitions of the Names of Subſtances, as explain the ſenſe Men...1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book III, page 259
Show 16 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A performer more or less skilful.
    • an old hand at public speaking
    • I was always reckoned a lively hand at a simile.1811, William Hazlitt, “A Day by the Fire”, in The Reflector
  2. An instance of helping.
    • Bob gave Alice a hand to move the furniture.
    • What need have you of a hand who never fall?1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 46, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published...
  3. Handwriting; style of penmanship.
    • a good hand
    • I ſay ſhe neuer did inuent this letter, / This is a mans inuention, and his hand.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  4. A person's autograph or signature.
    • Who […] Haue paſt the armie of the mightie Turke:
      Bearing his priuie ſignet and his hand,
      To ſafe conduct vs thorow Affrica: […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    • Given under my Hand and Seal of the State this 1st Day of January, 2010.
  5. Promise, word; especially of a betrothal.
    • They once made Mourning and Fasting for the Death of the English Governor, who had given his Hand to come on such a Day to 'em, and neither came nor sent; believing, when a Man's Word was past, nothing but Death could or should prevent his keeping it: And when they saw he was not dead, they ask'd...Montague Summers (editor), The Works of Aphra Behn, volume V, page 132
    • Few would rely upon the word or oath of any man who had been known to break a hand-promise.1868, William Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, volume 2, page 179
  6. Personal possession; ownership.
    • Receiving in hand one year’s tribute.1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC
  7. (in plural) Management, domain, control.
    • in safe hands
    • in good hands
  8. (colloquial) A hand which is free to assist; especially due to having one's hands full or otherwise fully preoccupied.
    • Just give me a minute — I haven't got any hands right now.
  9. Applause.
    • Give him a hand.
    • “Give him a hand, Pendennis; you know every chap likes a hand,” Mr. Foker said; and the good-natured young gentleman, and Pendennis laughing, and the dragoons in the opposite box, began clapping hands to the best of their power.1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 3, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850...
  10. (historical) A Native American gambling game, involving guessing the whereabouts of bits of ivory or similar, which are passed rapidly from hand to hand.
  11. The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
  12. A whole rhizome of ginger.
  13. The feel of a fabric; the impression or quality of the fabric as judged qualitatively by the sense of touch.
    • This fabric has a smooth, soft hand.
    • For both the fifth and sixth fabrics, I used tussah noils as weft. The effect that makes in the hand of the fabrics and their apparent weight is striking.1990, Sharon Alderman, A Handweaver's Notebook, →ISBN, page 70
  14. (archaic) Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.
    • And Gideon ſaid vnto God, If thou wilt ſaue Iſrael by mine hand,[…]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 6:36, column 1
    • They who thought they could never be ſecure in any Peace, except the King were firſt at their Mercy, and ſo obliged to accept the conditions they would give him, were willing to change the hand in carrying on the War: and many, who thought the Earl of Eſſex behaved himſelf too imperiouſly, were...1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, book VIII, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], volume II, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the...
  15. (archaic) Agency in transmission from one person to another.
    • to buy at first hand (from the producer, or when new)
    • to buy at second hand (when no longer in the producer’s hand, or when not new)
  16. (obsolete) Rate; price.
    • For Time is the meaſure of Buſineſſe, as Money is of Wares: And Buſineſſe is bought at a deare Hand, where there is ſmall diſpatch.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Dispatch. XXV.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, page 143

Verb

hand (third-person singular simple present hands, present participle handing, simple past and past participle handed)

  1. (ditransitive) To give, pass or transmit with the hand, literally or figuratively.
    • He handed them the letter. She handed me an opportunity.
    • It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
  2. (transitive) To lead, guide, or assist with the hand; to conduct.
    • to hand a lady into a carriage
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To manage.
    • I bleſs my Chain, I hand my Oar, / Nor think on all I left on Shoar.1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “The Lady's Looking-Glass”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 45
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To seize; to lay hands on.
    • wee will not hand a rope more1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
  5. (rare, transitive) To pledge by the hand; to handfast.
  6. (transitive) To furl (a sail).
    • send the people up to hand the sail, and when up, before they goon the yard, I'll clap the rolling tackle on to steady it1814, John Hamilton Moore, “Examination of a Young Sea Officer”, in The new practical navigator, nineteenth edition
    • In the very long run from the west side of America to Guam, among the Philippine Islands, ships seldom have occasion to hand their sails, so equal and steady is the gale, and yet they make it in about 60 days, which could not be if the wind blew only in the afternoon.1834 [1756 November 4], Benjamin Franklin, “Observations in answer to the foregoing.”, in Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin, volume II, Philadelphia: McCarty & Davis, →OCLC, page 344, column 1
  7. (intransitive, obsolete) To cooperate.

Phrase capitalized: HAND

HAND

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of have a nice day.

Proper noun capitalized: Hand

Hand

  1. A surname.

hand meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

hand in Hindi

part of the fore limb
हाथ hāth
index or pointer on a dial, such as on an analogue/analog clock
सुई suī, कांटा kāṇṭā

hand in Tamil

set of cards held by a player in a card game
கை kai
part of the fore limb
கை kai
index or pointer on a dial, such as on an analogue/analog clock
முள் muḷ
bunch of bananas
சீப்பு cīppu

hand in Marathi

part of the fore limb
हात hāt

hand in Urdu

part of the fore limb
ہاتھ hāth, دَسْت dast
More languagesFewer languages
hand in Bengali
হাত hat, দস্ত dosto
hand in Telugu
చెయ్యి ceyyi
hand in Malayalam
കൈ kai
hand in Kannada
ಕೈ kai
hand in Punjabi
ਹੱਥ hattha, ہَتّھ hatth
hand in Gujarati
હાથ hāth
hand in Odia
ହାତ hāta
hand in Sanskrit
हस्त hasta, पाणि pāṇi
hand in Sinhala
අත ata
hand in Assamese
হাত hat
hand in Nepali
हात hāt
hand in Pashto
لاس lās
hand in Tagalog
kamay, sulat, palakpak
hand in Arabic
يَد yad, إيد īd, إدين ʔedén, يد yadd
hand in Malay
tangan, lima, yad, jarum
hand in Indonesian
tangan, yad, memberi, memandu
hand in Persian
دَسْت dast, دَس das, عَقْرَبَک aqrabak, عَقْرَبِه aġrabe
hand in Thai
มือ mʉʉ, เข็มนาฬิกา kěm-naa-lí-gaa
hand in Vietnamese
ván, tay, kim, nải
hand in Myanmar
လက် lak
Sindhi
ھَٿُ hathu
Dhivehi
އަތްތިލަ at̊tila
Kashmiri
اَتھٕ athụ, अथॖ athụ
Dzongkha
ལགཔ lgap

Examples of hand in a sentence

  • With the business back in the founder's hands, there is new hope for the company.
  • With John in charge of the project, it's in good hands.
  • It's not a rumor. I heard it at first hand.
  • Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth.2012 December 26, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times...
  • At the church sociables he used to hop around among them, chipping and chirping like a dicky-bird picking up seed; and he was a great hand to play the piano, and sing saddish, sweetish songs to them.1903, George Horace Lorimer, Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to his Son, page 46:
  • Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...

All 40 example sentences with hand

Synonyms of hand

All synonyms of hand

Forms of hand

Noun
pluralhands
Verb
third-person singular presenthands
present participlehanding
past participlehanded
pasthanded
second-person singular present (archaic)handest
second-person singular past (archaic)handedst
third-person singular present (archaic)handeth

Past tense of hand: handed

Plural of hand: hands

Origin of hand

From Middle English hond, hand, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic *handu, from Proto-Germanic *handuz. See also Dutch and Swedish hand (“hand”), Danish hånd, German Hand, West Frisian hân. Perhaps compare Old Swedish hinna (“to gain”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰-𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (fra-hinþan, “to take captive, capture”); and Latvian sīts (“hunting spear”), Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéō, “prick”), Albanian çandër (“pitchfork, prop”).

From Middle English handen, honden, from the noun (see above); and also from henden (> English hend), from Old English *hendan, ġehendan (“to seize by hand, grasp, hold”), from Proto-West Germanic *handijan, from Proto-Germanic *handijaną (“to take by hand, grasp”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian handa, henda (“to grasp, seize”), Middle Low German handen, henden (in derivatives), Dutch handen, henden (“to arrange, dispose, be handy”), Dutch overhandigen (“to hand, hand over”), Middle High German handen (“to cut, hew”), Middle High German henden (“to give hands to; take hold of, seize”), Old Norse henda (“to grasp, seize, take by hand”).

* As a Dutch, German, and English surname, from the noun hand, or used to translate surname for hand in other languages. * Also as an English surname, possibly from a pet form of Randall or names like Johan and Henry.

Words formed from hand

Phrases with hand

171 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with hand

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about hand

What does hand mean?
Hand means the part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in humans and other primates, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
What is hand in Hindi?
Hand in Hindi is हाथ (hāth), सुई (suī), कांटा (kāṇṭā). See Hand meaning in Hindi.
How do you use hand in a sentence?
With the business back in the founder's hands, there is new hope for the company.
What part of speech is hand?
Hand can be a noun, a verb, a phrase or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce hand?
Hand is pronounced /hænd/ (UK).
What is the plural of hand?
The plural of hand is hands.

Words near hand in the dictionary

  1. Hancock Point
  2. hancockite
  3. Hancocks
  4. hancoside
  5. Hancox
  6. hand
  7. hand adze
  8. hand adzes
  9. hand alphabet
  10. hand alphabets
  11. hand and foot

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hand (page history and authors); HAND (page history and authors); 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-hand.ogg, en-us-hand.ogg.

Cite this entry: “hand.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hand. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.