handout

Syllables: hand·out/ˈhændaʊt/US/ˈhændˌaʊt/

handout noun: an act of handing out something.

Image: Djurens Rätt, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

handout (plural handouts)

An act of handing out something.
1. (US, archaic, rare) An act of dealing playing cards; a deal.
A printed sheet such as a leaflet or pamphlet, or a worksheet, that is given out free of charge (usually by hand) for a certain use, for example as an advertisement or for information.
- Therefore, it is often recommended that the framework or outline for a lecture be provided to students on the chalkboard or in a handout so they can more easily follow the logic as the lecture progresses.2010, Jeane W. Anastas, “Teaching Courses: Methods and Modalities”, in Teaching in Social Work: An Educators’ Guide to Theory and Practice, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia...
1. Synonym of press release (“an official written statement that is sent to the media so that it can be publicized”).
(derogatory, informal, often) A gift of money or material assistance to the needy or poor.
- We ain't runnin' no day nursery. These you see here is all the real thing. Maybe we asks fer a handout now and then; but that ain't our reg'lar lay.1917 (date written), Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Oakdale Affair”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., published March 1918, →OCLC; republished Doylestown, Pa.: Wildside Press...
- They dropped old Henry at Tarpin, where he soon drank up all his wages. When Rapp picked him up there, he was living on hand-outs.1925, Willa Cather, chapter III, in The Professor’s House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, book II (Tom Outland’s Story), page 196
Synonyms:

bonsella
1. (broadly, derogatory, informal, often) Something obtained without effort; a gift, a present.
  - They [Manchester United] had contributed heavily to their own downfall, most glaringly with the senselessness of Chris Smalling's red card, and they should know by now that Manuel Pellegrini's team are not the kind of opponents to pass up these kind of handouts.2014 November 2, Daniel Taylor, “Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC...

Adjective

handout (not comparable)

Of a thing: given out free of charge, usually by hand.
Of or pertaining to the giving of handouts (gifts of money or material assistance, printed sheets, etc.).

handout meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

handout in Hindi

printed sheet given out free of charge (usually by hand) for a certain use: विज्ञप्ति vijñapti

handout in Tamil

கைப் பிரசுரம், கொடை

handout in Urdu

بخشش, اعلامیہ

handout in Bengali

হ্যান্ডআউট

More languagesFewer languages

handout in Telugu: హ్యాండౌట్, హ్యాండ్అవుట్
handout in Malayalam: ഔദാര്യം audāryaṁ
handout in Kannada: ಉಪಾದಾನ, ಕೈಭಿಕ್ಷೆ, ಮಾಹಿತಿ, ವಿಷಯ
handout in Punjabi: ਹੈਂਡਆਊਟ
handout in Gujarati: હેન્ડઆઉટ
handout in Odia: ହ୍ଯ଼ାଣ୍ଡଆଉଟ୍, ହ୍ଯ଼ାଣ୍ଡଆଉଟ୍ |
handout in Nepali: ह्यान्डआउट
handout in Arabic: كُرَّاسَة kurrāsa, نَشْرَة našra
handout in Persian: جزوه

Examples of handout in a sentence

You're just looking for a handout like every other—are you employed, Mr.1998 January 18, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, The Big Lebowski, spoken by Jeffrey “The Big” Lebowski (David Huddleston), United States: Gramercy...
A woman, dressed in simple and worn clothes, holding a very young and rather dirty looking baby, was seeking a handout.2009, Chloe Schwenke, “Introduction”, in Reclaiming Value in International Development: The Moral Dimensions of Development Policy and...
With mounting pressure as households face a financial squeeze, the foreign secretary rejected handouts and insisted on tax cuts costing more than £30bn as the country spirals towards a recession.2022 August 6, Geneva Abdul, “Liz Truss rejects ‘handouts’ as way to tackle cost of living crisis”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The...

All 13 example sentences with handout

Synonyms of handout

1 more synonymsFewer synonyms

tithing

All synonyms of handout

Forms of handout

plural	handouts
alternative form	hand-out

Plural of handout: handouts

Origin of handout

Deverbal from hand out.

Questions about handout

What does handout mean?: Handout means an act of handing out something.
What is handout in Hindi?: Handout in Hindi is विज्ञप्ति (vijñapti). See Handout meaning in Hindi.
How do you use handout in a sentence?: You're just looking for a handout like every other—are you employed, Mr.
What part of speech is handout?: Handout can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce handout?: Handout is pronounced /ˈhændaʊt/ (UK).
What is the plural of handout?: The plural of handout is handouts.

Words near handout in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: handout (page history and authors); handout (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); handout (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); handout (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); handout (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); handout (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); handout (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); handout (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); handout (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); handout (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-handout.wav.

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