- hand
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 part of the bodyADJECTIVE▪ left, right▪ beautiful, delicate, long-fingered, pretty, slender▪ manicured, well-manicured▪ calloused/callused, rough▪ soft▪ firm, strong▪ limp▪
He offered a limp hand to shake.
▪ frail▪ arthritic▪ gnarled▪ clawed, claw-like▪ bony▪He holds out a bony hand for her to shake.
▪ hairy▪ cool▪His hand, when she shook it, was cool and firm.
▪ clammy, sweaty▪He clutched the cane in his clammy hand.
▪ dirty, filthy, greasy, grimy, grubby, sticky, unwashed▪He wiped his greasy hands on the front of his overalls.
▪ clean▪ gloved▪ open▪She gestured to the window with an open hand.
▪ outstretched▪She walked up to him with her hand outstretched to take his.
▪ free▪With his free hand he took hold of the knife.
▪ cupped▪She rested her chin in her cupped hand.
▪ busy, deft▪Her busy hands had transformed the tiny room into a work of art.
▪ willing▪There's plenty of work for willing hands
▪ eager▪Eager hands reached out to help him.
▪ nervous, shaking, shaky, trembling, unsteady▪ steady▪A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady hand.
▪ comforting, friendly, gentle, sympathetic▪He put a friendly hand on his friend's knee.
▪He laid a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder.
▪ generous, liberal (both figurative)▪She filled our glasses with a generous hand.
▪ capable, expert, guiding, practised/practiced, reassuring, skilful/skillful, skilled▪With a practised hand he motioned a waiter to bring a fresh pot of coffee.
▪ careless, clumsy▪ invisible (figurative)▪the invisible hand of the market
VERB + HAND▪ take▪She took the child's hand and helped him climb the steps.
▪ grab▪He grabbed my hand and motioned for me to follow him.
▪ reach for▪He reached for her hand and held it tightly.
▪ hold, hold on to▪They walked along, holding hands.
▪She held on to my hand as I tried to leave.
▪ clutch, grasp▪Hannah grasped her hand.
▪ clutch sth in, clutch sth with, grasp sth in, grasp sth with, hold sth in▪He held the key in his hand.
▪Beth grasped the rope with both hands.
▪ press, squeeze, touch▪She pressed his hand. ‘I know,’ she said softly.
▪ shake▪He shook Blake's hand as if they were long lost friends.
▪He shook hands with all of us before leaving.
▪ feel▪I felt a hand on my shoulder.
▪ extend, hold out, put out, reach out▪She smiled and extended a hand in welcome.
▪He put out a hand as if to touch her.
▪ lay, place, press, put, rest▪He laid a hand on her arm.
▪She put her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment.
▪She rested her hand on my shoulder.
▪ slap▪Jimmy slapped his hand over his mouth.
▪ slide▪He slid his hands into his pockets.
▪ run▪Clive ran a hand through his hair.
▪ withdraw▪Slowly Ruth withdrew her hand from his.
▪ hold up, lift, put up (esp. BrE), raise, throw up▪He lifted his hand to her face.
▪Several students raised their hands to answer the question.
▪She held up her hand in farewell.
▪He threw up his hands in despair when he saw the damage.
▪ spread▪She shrugged and spread her hands. ‘That's all I can tell you.’
▪ wave▪ clap▪We were all clapping our hands in time to the music.
▪ clasp, clench, wring▪He had his hands clasped behind his head.
▪She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling.
▪He was sobbing and wringing his hands by the grave.
▪ beat▪He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.
▪ cup▪I cupped my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone so they couldn't hear me.
▪ fold▪She folds her hands in prayer.
▪ rub▪She shivered, rubbing her hands together fiercely.
▪ wash▪ wipeHAND + VERB▪ shake, tremble▪Her hand shook as she lifted the glass to her lips.
▪ be outstretched, reach out, shoot out▪She stood up and went over to him, her hands outstretched.
▪A strong hand reached out and caught hold of her arm.
▪ grope for sth, reach for sth, seek sth▪My hand groped for the door handle.
▪His hand sought hers.
▪ find sth▪His hand eventually found the light switch.
▪ catch sth, clamp, clasp sth, grab sth, grasp sth, seize sth▪The policeman kept a firm hand clamped on his shoulder.
▪ clutch sth, grip sth, hold sth▪ clamp, clench, close around sth, close on sth▪A heavy hand clamped over her mouth.
▪My hands clenched together tightly.
▪A hand closed around her wrist.
▪ claw sth, claw at sth, pull sth, tug sth▪His hands clawed at the muddy earth.
▪ cup sth▪His hands cupped her face.
▪ push sth▪ squeeze sth, tighten sth▪ brush sth, brush across sth, brush against sth, caress sth, stroke sth, touch sth▪His hand brushed against hers.
▪ creep, go, move, slide, slip, steal, stray▪Muriel's hand crept to her neck to hold her pearls.
▪ fly▪Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh no!’
▪ jerk, twitch▪ run over sth, run through sth, trail▪Her hand ran over the surface, feeling the different textures.
▪ freeze, still▪His hand froze in mid-gesture.
▪ hover, roam▪My hand hovered over the switch for a moment.
▪His hands roamed over her shoulders.
▪ fumble▪My hands fumbled with the key.
▪ lie, rest▪His hand rested on her shoulder.
▪ go up, shoot up▪ come down, descend, drop▪A large hand descended on his shoulder.
▪His hands dropped to his sides and he fell to the floor.
▪ withdraw▪ lift, rise▪Her hand lifted to place a cigarette in her mouth.
▪ cover sth▪Her hand moved to cover his.
HAND + NOUN▪ gesture, movement, position, signal▪ dryer, towel▪ axe/ax, drill, saw (usually handsaw), tools▪ pump▪ blender, mixer▪Purée with a hand blender or food processor.
▪ puppet▪ drum▪ mirror▪ baggage, luggage (both esp. BrE) (carry-on baggage in AmE)▪You can take your laptop on the plane as hand luggage.
▪ cream, lotion, sanitizer (AmE), soap▪ grenade, gun (usually handgun)▪ injury▪ count, recount (both esp. AmE)▪a hand recount of the vote for governor
PREPOSITION▪ by hand▪Delicate clothes should be washed by hand.
▪ by … hands▪The rocks looked like they had been shaped by human hands.
▪ in your hand▪She had a piece of paper in her hand.
▪Can I leave these queries in your capable hands? (figurative)
▪ on your hand▪She had large rings on both hands.
▪ with your hand▪Operate the gears with your left hand.
PHRASES▪ ball your hands into fists▪ fall into the wrong hands (figurative)▪Guards made sure that the food supplies didn't fall into the wrong hands.
▪ get your hands off sb/sth, keep your hands off sb/sth, take your hands off sb/sth▪She warned her brother to keep his hands off her bag.
▪ get your hands on sth, lay your hands on sth▪I desperately need to lay my hands on some money by Monday.
▪ hand in hand▪They walked hand in hand along the path.
▪ hands on hips▪She stood in the doorway, hands on hips.
▪ head in your hands▪He sat with his head in his hands.
▪ in safe hands (figurative)▪He retired feeling confident that his company was in safe hands.
▪ a safe pair of hands (figurative)▪She gained a reputation as a safe pair of hands.
▪ a show of hands▪She asked for a show of hands (= asked people to vote).
▪ on (your) hands and knees▪He was on his hands and knees, looking for a contact lens.
▪ out of sb's hands (figurative)▪I don't work in that department any more, so the problem is out of my hands.
▪ the palm of your hand▪She studied the object in the palm of her hand.
▪ with your bare hands▪He killed the lion with his bare hands.
2 a hand helpVERB + A HAND▪ give sb, lend (sb)▪Can you give me a hand with loading the van?
▪At harvest time all the locals lend a hand.
▪ need▪Do you need a hand with those invoices?
▪ want▪Do you want a hand with that?
3 role in a situationVERB + HAND▪ have▪ strengthen▪The strategic alliance served to strengthen the country's hand in the region.
PREPOSITION▪ hand in▪Several of his colleagues had a hand in his downfall.
4 in card gamesADJECTIVE▪ bad, goodVERB + HAND▪ deal (sb)▪Who dealt the last hand?
▪She felt that life had dealt her a bad hand. (figurative)
▪ get, have▪ play▪ overplay (usually figurative)▪The party leadership overplayed its hand.
▪ reveal, show (usually figurative)▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}Now the EU has revealed its hand.
verbADVERB▪ effectively, practically▪ formally, officially▪formally handing over power to the new government
▪ personally▪She wanted to hand the petition to the president personally.
▪ just, merely, simply▪They would simply hand her over to the magistrate as a thief.
▪ quickly▪ immediately, promptly▪ grudgingly, reluctantly▪He grudgingly handed me the money.
▪ carefully, gently▪Keith gently handed me the little baby girl.
▪ silently, wordlessly▪ back, down, in, out, over▪She handed out the exam papers.
VERB + HAND▪ agree to, be happy to, be prepared to, be ready to, be willing to▪ be reluctant to, refuse to▪ force sb to▪ get ready to, prepare to▪The court is getting ready to hand down a potentially historic decision.
PREPOSITION▪ to▪He handed the book to Sally.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
