/ English Dictionary

HAND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Physical assistance

Example:

give me a hand with the chores

Synonyms:

hand; helping hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

aid; assist; assistance; help (the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)

Derivation:

hand (guide or conduct or usher somewhere)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Terminal part of the forelimb in certain vertebrates (e.g. apes or kangaroos)

Example:

the kangaroo's forearms seem undeveloped but the powerful five-fingered hands are skilled at feinting and clouting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

forepaw (front paw; analogous to the human hand)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A rotating pointer on the face of a timepiece

Example:

the big hand counts the minutes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

pointer (an indicator as on a dial)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

hour hand; little hand (the shorter hand of a clock that points to the hours)

big hand; minute hand (points to the minutes)

second hand (hand marking seconds on a timepiece)

Holonyms ("hand" is a part of...):

horologe; timekeeper; timepiece (a measuring instrument or device for keeping time)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

Example:

he extended his mitt

Synonyms:

hand; manus; mitt; paw

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

extremity (that part of a limb that is farthest from the torso)

Meronyms (parts of "hand"):

metacarpal vein; vena metacarpus (dorsal and palmar veins of the hand)

intercapitular vein; vena intercapitalis (veins connecting the dorsal and palmar veins of the hand or the dorsal and plantar veins of the foot)

arteria metacarpea; metacarpal artery (dorsal and palmar arteries of the hand)

arteria digitalis; digital arteries (arteries in the hand and foot that supply the fingers and toes)

palm; thenar (the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers)

finger (any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb))

ball (a more or less rounded anatomical body or mass)

metacarpus (the part of the hand between the carpus and phalanges)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

clenched fist; fist (a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting))

hooks; maulers; meat hooks (large strong hand (as of a fighter))

right; right hand (the hand that is on the right side of the body)

left; left hand (the hand that is on the left side of the body)

Holonyms ("hand" is a part of...):

homo; human; human being; man (any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage)

arm (a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb)

Derivation:

hand (place into the hands or custody of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Ability

Example:

he wanted to try his hand at singing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

ability; power (possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done)

Sense 6

Meaning:

One of two sides of an issue

Example:

on the one hand..., but on the other hand...

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

side (an aspect of something (as contrasted with some other implied aspect))

Sense 7

Meaning:

Something written by hand

Example:

his hand was illegible

Synonyms:

hand; handwriting; script

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

writing (letters or symbols that are written or imprinted on a surface to represent the sounds or words of a language)

Domain category:

handwriting (the activity of writing by hand)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

shorthand; stenography; tachygraphy (a method of writing rapidly using an abbreviated symbolic system)

cursive; cursive script; longhand; running hand (rapid handwriting in which letters are set down in full and are cursively connected within words without lifting the writing implement from the paper)

calligraphy; chirography; penmanship (beautiful handwriting)

cacography; scratch; scrawl; scribble (poor handwriting)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A round of applause to signify approval

Example:

give the little lady a great big hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

applause; clapping; hand clapping (a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The cards held in a card game by a given player at any given time

Example:

he kept trying to see my hand

Synonyms:

deal; hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Meronyms (parts of "hand"):

long suit (in a hand, the suit having the most cards)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

poker hand (the 5 cards held in a game of poker)

bridge hand (the cards held in a game of bridge)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A position given by its location to the side of an object

Example:

objections were voiced on every hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

side (a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A card player in a game of bridge

Example:

we need a 4th hand for bridge

Synonyms:

bridge player; hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

card player (someone who plays (or knows how to play) card games)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

bidder (someone who makes a bid at cards)

bridge partner (one of a pair of bridge players who are on the same side of the game)

contractor; declarer (the bridge player in contract bridge who wins the bidding and can declare which suit is to be trumps)

Sense 12

Meaning:

A member of the crew of a ship

Example:

all hands on deck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

crewman; sailor (any member of a ship's crew)

Sense 13

Meaning:

A hired laborer on a farm or ranch

Example:

a ranch hand

Synonyms:

hand; hired hand; hired man

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

jack; laborer; labourer; manual laborer (someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hand"):

farm worker; farmhand; field hand; fieldhand (a hired hand on a farm)

drover; herder; herdsman (someone who drives a herd)

ranch hand (a hired hand on a ranch)

groom; hostler; ostler; stableboy; stableman (someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses)

Sense 14

Meaning:

A unit of length equal to 4 inches; used in measuring horses

Example:

the horse stood 20 hands

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("hand" is a kind of...):

handbreadth; handsbreadth (any unit of length based on the breadth of the human hand)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Guide or conduct or usher somewhere

Example:

hand the elderly lady into the taxi

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "hand" is one way to...):

conduct; direct; guide; lead; take (take somebody somewhere)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

hand (physical assistance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Place into the hands or custody of

Example:

He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers

Synonyms:

give; hand; pass; pass on; reach; turn over

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "hand" is one way to...):

transfer (cause to change ownership)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hand"):

give (leave with; give temporarily)

slip; sneak (pass on stealthily)

deal (give (a specific card) to a player)

deliver; fork out; fork over; fork up; hand over; render; turn in (to surrender someone or something to another)

free; give up; release; relinquish; resign (part with a possession or right)

commit; confide; entrust; intrust; trust (confer a trust upon)

entrust; leave (put into the care or protection of someone)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sentence examples:

They hand the food to the people

They hand the people the food

Also:

hand down (passed on, as by inheritance)

hand out (give to several people)

hand over (to surrender someone or something to another)

Derivation:

hand (the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Suddenly he saw a strange thing like mist beginning to arise from the sticks and moss beneath Grey Beaver's hands.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I passed my hand over the horny projections, and my teeth went on edge once more from the horrible rasping sensation produced.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Then the skin of my throat began to tingle as one's flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer—nearer.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

You’re right, said Hans, as he weighed it in his hand; but if you talk of fat, my pig is no trifle.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I was handed over to the manservant, a melancholy, swarthy individual, who led the way, my bag in his hand, to my bedroom.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The man paused and passed his hand over his face.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The tongs had fallen, and his hands were hanging free.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Far down the road a long-legged figure was running, with a bundle under one arm and the other hand to his side, like a man who laughs until he is sore.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have your hands on thousands, you fools, and you hang a leg!

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Tandem repeats form a right-handed superhelix (3 helixes per unit); tight repeat packing creates a cylindrical hydrophobic core throughout the structure.

(Armadillo Repeat, NCI Thesaurus)

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