8 N‑COUNT In a game of cards, your hand is the set of cards that you are holding in your hand at a particular time or the cards that are dealt to you at the beginning of the game. □ He carefully inspected his hand.
9 N‑COUNT A hand is a measurement of four inches, which is used for measuring the height of a horse from its front feet to its shoulders. □ I had a very good 14.2 hands pony, called Brandy.
10 N‑COUNT The hands of a clock or watch are the thin pieces of metal or plastic that indicate what time it is.
11 PHRASE If something is at hand , near at hand , or close at hand , it is very near in place or time. □ Having the right equipment at hand will be enormously helpful.
12 PHRASE If someone experiences a particular kind of treatment, especially unpleasant treatment, at the hands of a person or organization, they receive it from them. □ The civilian population were suffering greatly at the hands of the security forces.
13 PHRASE If you do something by hand , you do it using your hands rather than a machine. □ Each pleat was stitched in place by hand.
14 PHRASE When something changes hands , its ownership changes, usually because it is sold to someone else. □ The firm has changed hands many times over the years.
15 PHRASE If you have someone eating out of your hand , they are completely under your control. □ Parker could have customers eating out of his hand.
16 PHRASE If you force someone's hand , you force them to act sooner than they want to, or to act in public when they would prefer to keep their actions secret. □ He blamed the press for forcing his hand.
17 PHRASE If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it. □ She had her hands full with new arrivals.
18 PHRASE If someone gives you a free hand , they give you the freedom to use your own judgment and to do exactly as you wish. □ He gave Stephanie a free hand in the decoration.
19 PHRASE If you get your hands on something or lay your hands on something, you manage to find it or obtain it, usually after some difficulty. [INFORMAL ] □ Patty began reading everything she could get her hands on.
20 PHRASE If you work hand in glove with someone, you work very closely with them. □ The U.N. inspectors work hand in glove with the Western intelligence agencies.
21 PHRASE If two people are hand in hand , they are holding each other's nearest hand, usually while they are walking or sitting together. People often do this to show their affection for each other. □ I saw them making their way, hand in hand, down the path.
22 PHRASE If two things go hand in hand , they are closely connected and cannot be considered separately from each other. □ [+ with ] For us, research and teaching go hand in hand.
23 PHRASE If you have a hand in something such as an event or activity, you are involved in it. □ He thanked all who had a hand in his release.
24 PHRASE If you say that someone such as the ruler of a country treats people with a heavy hand , you are criticizing them because they are very strict and severe with them. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Henry and Richard both ruled with a heavy hand.
25 PHRASE If two people are holding hands , they are holding each other's nearest hand, usually while they are walking or sitting together. People often do this to show their affection for each other. □ She approached a young couple holding hands on a bench. [Also + with ]
26 PHRASE If you ask someone to hold your hand at an event that you are worried about, you ask them to support you by being there with you. [INFORMAL ] □ I don't need anyone to hold my hand.
27 PHRASE In a competition, if someone has games or matches in hand , they have more games or matches left to play than their opponent and therefore have the possibility of scoring more points. [BRIT ] □ They have a game in hand on two of the clubs above them.
28 PHRASE If you have time or money in hand , you have more time or money than you need. [BRIT ] □ Hughes finished with 15 seconds in hand.
29 PHRASE The job or problem in hand is the job or problem that you are dealing with at the moment. □ The business in hand was approaching some kind of climax.
30 PHRASE If a situation is in hand , it is under control. □ The event organisers say that matters are well in hand.
31 PHRASE If you lend someone a hand , you help them. □ I'd be glad to lend a hand.
32 PHRASE If you tell someone to keep their hands off something or to take their hands off it, you are telling them in a rather aggressive way not to touch it or interfere with it. □ Keep your hands off my milk.
33 PHRASE If you do not know something off hand , you do not know it without having to ask someone else or look it up in a book. [SPOKEN ] □ I can't think of any off hand.
34 PHRASE If you have a problem or responsibility on your hands , you have to deal with it. If it is off your hands , you no longer have to deal with it. □ She knew she had a real fight on her hands if she was to remain leader. □ She would like the worry of dealing with her affairs taken off her hands.
35 PHRASE If someone or something is on hand , they are near and able to be used if they are needed. □ The Bridal Department will have experts on hand to give you all the help and advice you need.
36 PHRASE You use on the one hand to introduce the first of two contrasting points, facts, or ways of looking at something. It is always followed later by on the other hand or 'on the other'. □ On the one hand, if the body doesn't have enough cholesterol, we would not be able to survive. On the other hand, if the body has too much cholesterol, the excess begins to line the arteries.