Word.ws English Dictionary

Past tense of handle

regular verb

The past tense of handle is handled. The past participle is also handled.

Forms of handle

Base form (V1)handle /ˈhæn.d(ə)l/
Past tense (V2)handled /ˈhændl̩d/
Past participle (V3)handled /ˈhændl̩d/
Present participlehandling /ˈhændl̩ɪŋ/
Third person singularhandles

Handled in a sentence

  • Robert Huth handled a Bentley shot, only for the offence to go unnoticed.2011 February 12, Les Roopanarine, “Birmingham 1 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC
  • Light on his feet for a big man, he handled the rifle like a pistol.1976, Mel Hallin Bolster, Crazy Snake and the Smoked Meat Rebellion, page 66
  • We've added hooks to allow undefined message types to be handled with custom code.From the entry hook
  • I've got to give props to Roger for the way he handled that situation.From the entry props
  • The car handled horrendously when I took it for a test drive.From the entry horrendously

Meaning of handle

  1. noun The part of an object which is (designed to be) held in the hand when used or moved.
  2. noun An instrument for effecting a purpose (either literally or figuratively); a tool, or an opportunity or pretext.
  3. noun The gross amount of wagering within a given period of time or for a given event at one of more establishments.

Full definition of handle

Questions about the past tense of handle

What is the past tense of handle?
The past tense of handle is handled.
What is the past participle of handle?
The past participle of handle is handled.
Is handle a regular or irregular verb?
Handle is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: handle (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Past tense of handle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/handle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.