What does “hand” mean?
- 1
nounthe part of your body at the end of your arm with fingers and a thumb
Wash your hands before dinner.
- 2
nounhelp with doing something
Can you give me a hand with these boxes?
- 3
verbto pass something to someone with your hand
Could you hand me that towel?
Hand at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun & verb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /hænd/ · HAND
How to use “hand” correctly
“On the one hand ... on the other hand” compares two sides of an idea. “Hand in” means give work to a teacher.
Common phrases with “hand”
- give sb a hand
- on the other hand
- hand in
- by hand
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- handy
- handful
- handmade
Idioms with “hand”
- Live hand to mouth: To have only just enough money to survive, with nothing saved.
- Get out of hand: Become difficult or impossible to control.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: It is better to keep something you have than risk it for something better you may not get.
“hand” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- arm nounA1one of the two long body parts between your shoulder and your hand
- body nounA1the whole physical form of a person or animal
- doctor nounA1a person trained to treat sick or injured people
- eye nounA1one of the two body parts in your face that you see with
- face nounA1the front of your head, where your eyes, nose and mouth are
- finger nounA1one of the five long parts at the end of your hand
- foot nounA1the part of your body at the end of your leg that you stand on
- hair nounA1the soft threads that grow on your head