hands 1 of 2

noun

plural of hand
1
as in control
the ability to direct the course of something the final decision is in your hands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in enjoyment
the fact or state of having (something) at one's disposal I'd like to get my hands on that vintage Cadillac convertible

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hands

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hand
1
as in provides
to put (something) into the possession of someone for use or consumption was happy to hand her grandmother's cookie recipes to the parish ladies to put in their cookbook

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in passes
to shift possession of (something) from one person to another the clerk handed her the receipt

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in leaves
to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another handed me her bundles while she fished for her house keys

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hands
Noun
Now, to the handwashing shortcomings, such as a cashier handling customer’s payment, then preparing drinks and serving plates of food to customers without washing hands (cash and payment cards tend to be germ motherships). — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026 But as the years passed and the historic farm in Gladstone underwent expansions and ownership changes, eventually landing in the hands of the city, it was transformed into a historical landmark and museum. — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026 The lid and outside of the container are grippy to increase stability for little hands. — Melissa Knific, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Sep. 2026 How much of it might be solved by prying them from our children’s hands? — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026 Food safety ultimately rests in the hands of industry, not the government, Schaffner said. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026 That are, again, all spoken at the same time, in a manner that could grate the nerves coming from the hands of any other filmmaker, but Herzog is entirely sincere and irony-free in his handling. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026 He’s been pulled back by trainers with two hands, with wide eyes fixed on the pigskin in front of him. — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026 There’s been so much peddling of billion-dollar franchises around town lately, surely some rich group is in a position to take the Clippers off his hands. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
The consultant reasons by filling a notebook with calculations, then hands you a one-sentence answer, and keeps the notebook. — Adam Fish, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026 One day, a stranger hands you a tablet and asks you to identify the correct words in a passage or find information in a chart. — Jennifer D. Kobrin, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026 This effectively hands the Russian state control of the owner’s property, property rights and shares. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026 Then the raccoon gets the gift of a lifetime when another fan hands him a full hot dog. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Catalyst mines a company's ticket history for recurring problems, checks what the connected systems' APIs allow and generates the code, workflows and permissions to automate them, then hands the result to an administrator for approval. — Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Instead of keeping the fortune, Lucky hands the seed phrase and the $10 million over to Billie. — Max Gao, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026 When Wayne hands her a gun to take care of Lucky, Priscilla points the weapon at the titular character before changing course and killing Wayne. — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026 Even when Danny and Frank suggest that Catherine killed Alden’s mother for her fentanyl stash, Alden sticks by her — and, in the episode’s final moments, hands Danny a flash drive with tons of incriminating information on it. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hands
  1. control
  2. enjoyment
  3. provides
  4. passes
  5. leaves
  6. grasp
  7. possession
  8. supplies
Noun
  • These trajectories document a robot’s behavior before an intervention, the moment a human operator takes control, and the corrective actions used to recover or complete the task.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Having control over a venue allows stadiums to be designed specifically with a women’s sports fan in mind, which can be critical to gameday experience.
    — Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of control
Noun
  • Don’t let the pressure of a specific end goal cloud your enjoyment of the ride.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But the combat happens in short spurts, allowing a fair amount of downtime for recuperation, conversation and enjoyment of the sport.
    — Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of enjoyment
Verb
  • Going into the summer, recruiting a left-back was on the agenda, though Newcastle feel Dedic and Livramento’s ability to play down both flanks provides enough cover.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Sea Hunter shows engine record The Navy’s growing autonomous fleet provides a direct use case for the certified technology.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of provides
Verb
  • Susan is appropriately horrified, but once her disgust passes, the now-exes share a tender moment.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The equinox occurs when the sun’s center passes through the imaginary line from the north to the south.
    — Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of passes
Verb
  • Xenex LightStrike Infections acquired inside hospitals remain a serious problem, especially when harmful germs survive on surfaces after a patient leaves a room.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Measles spreads through the air and can remain in a room for up to two hours after an infected person leaves.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of leaves
Noun
  • The Wall Street Journal's Jason Zweig, who has a comprehensive grasp of financial history and a deft touch for illuminating it, explores the echoes here.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
  • But their rookie linebacker extended his arms, threw out a hand and knocked the ball free from London’s grasp.
    — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of grasp
Noun
  • Geneva rolled up 466 yards and crossed the goal line on six of its 10 possessions.
    — Jerry Birchfield, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The 10-play scoring drive was possible in part because of a 17-yard pass from Hyppolite to Ty Hayes on fourth and 5 that kept the possession alive and moved them into the red zone.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of possession
Verb
  • New Zealand supplies more than half of China's dairy imports, a dominance built under a bilateral trade agreement since 2008, that later granted duty-free access for all its dairy products in 2024.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The company, founded in 2004, uses organic, non-GMO soybeans and supplies grocery stores, restaurants and other food service businesses nationwide.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of supplies

Phrases Containing hands

Browse Nearby Words

hand running
hands
hands-down
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hands. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All