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

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

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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
But the power this concentrates in the hands of one corporation and person – SpaceX and Musk – has raised alarm bells. — Gerard Toal, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese and blue cheese in a bowl with gloved hands or in a food processor until blended. — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Health inspectors observed an employee washing their hands with only water. — Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Left with only her hands to fight off Seema, uh … Julia strangles her to death. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 These tools take the task out of your developers’ hands and put it in your product team’s, who may not be coders or have access to the codebase. — Osman Koc, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Should the Dodgers have taken the decision of whether to keep playing out of his hands? — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Video clips from bystanders shortly after the shooting Thursday show Belgal on the pavement with his hands cuffed and ICE officers nearby. — Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026 Local groups like DeFlock Fort Worth, DeFlock DFW, CLEAR Rule of Law and the Tarrant County chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus have taken the matter into their own hands, demanding Tarrant County and its cities remove the cameras. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
So the company hires a strong operator, hands them a title and waits to see what happens. — Ken Paskins, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 If a retreat hands you a personalized microbiome report, treat it as an interesting snapshot, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026 The complaint states that the friend hands Doe a beer, dances with her in the main room of the house, then pulls her off to a quieter area and propositions her with having a threesome with him and one of his fraternity brothers. — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026 Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hands the ball off to Walker who begins to scamper to the left. — Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026 The School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play all but hands us an instruction manual. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026 And with that shift comes a different columnist, as Joe Reid hands the newsletter reins over to Nate Jones. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026 Young children need the chance to struggle with a question before someone — or something — hands them an answer. — Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026 Wayne picks Gregory up at a motel, in Mobile, Alabama, and hands him a briefcase containing, among other things, a gun. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hands
  1. control
  2. enjoyment
  3. provides
  4. passes
  5. leaves
  6. grasp
  7. possession
  8. supplies
Noun
  • At the end of September, leaders of several of the biggest AI companies went to the White House and signed an accord committing to internal risk controls, independent audits and board-level oversight of safety.
    — Giorgos Tsetis, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That includes colorblock styling, chunky knobs and physical controls, and simple shapes that make each device memorable and distinctive.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of control
Noun
  • Complicating matters, one person’s cringe is another’s enjoyment.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Separate research from Prudential Financial recently found that more than six in 10 retirees with at least $500,000 in investable assets do not feel comfortable spending money for enjoyment.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of enjoyment
Verb
  • The robot’s onboard visual feedback provides information about the objects and their positions during these interactions.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The province contributes to Canada's equalization system, which provides federal funding to provinces with lower fiscal capacity.
    — Sheena Rossiter, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of provides
Verb
  • The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor Ayo Edebiri passes both tests.
    — Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • No other quarterback this season has more than four TD passes without a turnover with backups Drew Lock and Marcus Mariota pulling that off.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of passes
Verb
  • But the federal plan leaves the door open to steeper reductions that Arizona officials warned could be catastrophic and sued over last week.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Before any cymbal leaves the factory, a shokunin strikes it and listens, comparing its sound against a pristine reference by ear.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of leaves
Noun
  • Here’s hoping the Dodgers brain trust will eventually regain control of their team from Ohtani’s tight grasp.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • When Lindo evaded the owner's grasp and continued advancing while holding the firearm, Sgt.
    — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of grasp
Noun
  • The shoes became more than a possession, carrying a connection to the maker long after the customer left the shop.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Paporakis has been charged with one count of making a terrorist threat, a class X felony, and one count of unlawful possession of a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, a class 3 felony, police said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of possession
Verb
  • Lam Research, which supplies equipment and services for the making of semiconductors, will also talk on Wednesday about how its business is doing.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Through Porsche Classic, the company supplies replacement parts, technical expertise and specialized services for vehicles that have long since disappeared from showroom floors.
    — Chris Hardesty, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of supplies

Phrases Containing hands

Browse Nearby Words

hand running
hands
hands-down
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Cite this Entry

“Hands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hands. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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