hand|made /hæ ndme I d/ also hand-made
1 ADJ Handmade objects have been made by someone using their hands or using tools rather than by machines. □ As they're handmade, each one varies slightly. □ …handmade chocolates.
2 V-PASSIVE If something is handmade , it is made by someone using their hands or using tools rather than by machines. □ [be V -ed] The beads they use are handmade in the Jura mountains in central France.
hand|maiden /hæ ndme I d ə n/ (handmaidens )
1 N‑COUNT A handmaiden is a female servant. [LITERARY , OLD-FASHIONED ]
2 N‑COUNT If one thing is the handmaiden of another, the first thing helps the second or makes it possible. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of/to ] The fear is that science could become the handmaiden of industry.
ha nd-me-down (hand-me-downs )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Hand-me-downs are things, especially clothes, which have been used by someone else before you and which have been given to you for your use. □ Edward wore Andrew's hand-me-downs.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Hand-me-down is used to describe things, especially clothes, which have been used by someone else before you and which have been given to you for your use. □ Most of the boys wore hand-me-down military shirts from their fathers.
hand|out /hæ ndaʊt/ (handouts )
1 N‑COUNT A handout is a gift of money, clothing, or food, which is given free to poor people. □ Each family is being given a cash handout of six thousand rupees.
2 N‑COUNT If you call money that is given to someone a handout , you disapprove of it because you believe that the person who receives it has done nothing to earn or deserve it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the tendency of politicians to use money on vote-buying handouts.
3 N‑COUNT A handout is a document which contains news or information about something and which is given, for example, to journalists or members of the public. □ Official handouts describe the Emperor as 'particularly noted as a scholar'.
4 N‑COUNT A handout is a paper containing a summary of information or topics which will be dealt with in a lecture or talk.
hand|over /hæ ndoʊvə r / (handovers ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] The handover of something is when possession or control of it is given by one person or group of people to another. □ The handover is expected to be completed in the next ten years.
ha nd-pi ck (hand-picks , hand-picking , hand-picked ) also handpick VERB If someone is hand-picked , they are very carefully chosen by someone in authority for a particular purpose or a particular job. □ [be V -ed] He was hand-picked for this job by the Admiral. □ [V n] Sokagakkai was able to hand-pick his successor.
hand|rail /hæ ndre I l/ (handrails ) N‑COUNT A handrail is a long piece of metal or wood which is fixed near stairs or places where people could slip and fall, and which people can hold on to for support.
hand|set /hæ ndset/ (handsets )
1 N‑COUNT The handset of a telephone is the part that you hold next to your face in order to speak and listen.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to a device such as the remote control of a television or stereo as a handset .
ha nds-free ADJ [ADJ n] A hands-free phone or other device can be used without being held in your hand.
hand|shake /hæ ndʃe I k/ (handshakes )
1 N‑COUNT If you give someone a handshake , you take their right hand with your own right hand and hold it firmly or move it up and down, as a sign of greeting or to show that you have agreed about something such as a business deal.
2 → see also golden handshake
hand|some /hæ nsəm/
1 ADJ A handsome man has an attractive face with regular features. □ …a tall, dark, handsome sheep farmer.
2 ADJ A handsome woman has an attractive appearance with features that are large and regular rather than small and delicate. □ …an extremely handsome woman with a beautiful voice.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] A handsome sum of money is a large or generous amount. [FORMAL ] □ They will make a handsome profit on the property. ● hand|some|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He was rewarded handsomely for his efforts.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] If someone has a handsome win or a handsome victory, they get many more points or votes than their opponent. □ The opposition won a handsome victory in the election. ● hand|some|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ The car ran perfectly to the finish, and we won handsomely.
ha nds-o n ADJ [usu ADJ n] Hands-on experience or work involves actually doing a particular thing, rather than just talking about it or getting someone else to do it. □ Ninety-nine per cent of primary pupils now have hands-on experience of computers.
hand|stand /hæ ndstænd/ (handstands ) N‑COUNT If you do a handstand , you balance yourself upside down on your hands with your body and legs straight up in the air.
ha nd-to-ha nd also hand to hand ADJ [ADJ n] Hand-to-hand fighting is fighting where the people are very close together, using either their hands or weapons such as knives. □ There was, reportedly, hand-to-hand combat in the streets.
ha nd-to-mou th ADJ A hand-to-mouth existence is a way of life in which you have hardly enough food or money to live on. □ The worst-paid live a hand-to-mouth existence without medical or other benefits. ● ADV [ADV after v] Hand-to-mouth is also an adverb. □ …penniless students living hand-to-mouth.
ha nd tool (hand tools ) N‑COUNT Hand tools are fairly simple tools which you use with your hands, and which are usually not powered.
hand|wash /hæ ndwɒʃ/ (handwashes , handwashing , handwashed ) VERB If you handwash something, you wash it by hand rather than in a washing machine.