I.
noun
1 part of the body
ADJECTIVE
▪ left , right
▪ beautiful , delicate , long-fingered , pretty , slender
▪ manicured , well-manicured
▪ calloused/callused , rough
▪ soft
▪ firm , strong
▪ limp
▪
He offered a limp ~ to shake.
▪ frail
▪ arthritic
▪ gnarled
▪ clawed , claw-like
▪ bony
▪
He holds out a bony ~ for her to shake.
▪ hairy
▪ cool
▪
His ~, when she shook it, was cool and firm.
▪ clammy , sweaty
▪
He clutched the cane in his clammy ~.
▪ dirty , filthy , greasy , grimy , grubby , sticky , unwashed
▪
He wiped his greasy ~s on the front of his overalls.
▪ clean
▪ gloved
▪ open
▪
She gestured to the window with an open ~.
▪ outstretched
▪
She walked up to him with her ~ outstretched to take his.
▪ free
▪
With his free ~ he took hold of the knife.
▪ cupped
▪
She rested her chin in her cupped ~.
▪ busy , deft
▪
Her busy ~s had transformed the tiny room into a work of art.
▪ willing
▪
There's plenty of work for willing ~s
▪ eager
▪
Eager ~s reached out to help him.
▪ nervous , shaking , shaky , trembling , unsteady
▪ steady
▪
A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady ~.
▪ comforting , friendly , gentle , sympathetic
▪
He put a friendly ~ on his friend's knee.
▪
He laid a gentle ~ on his brother's shoulder.
▪ generous , liberal ( both figurative )
▪
She filled our glasses with a generous ~.
▪ capable , expert , guiding , practised/practiced , reassuring , skilful/skillful , skilled
▪
With a practised ~ he motioned a waiter to bring a fresh pot of coffee.
▪ careless , clumsy
▪ invisible ( figurative )
▪
the invisible ~ of the market
VERB + HAND
▪ take
▪
She took the child's ~ and helped him climb the steps.
▪ grab
▪
He grabbed my ~ and motioned for me to follow him.
▪ reach for
▪
He reached for her ~ and held it tightly.
▪ hold , hold on to
▪
They walked along, holding ~s.
▪
She held on to my ~ as I tried to leave.
▪ clutch , grasp
▪
Hannah grasped her ~.
▪ clutch sth in , clutch sth with , grasp sth in , grasp sth with , hold sth in
▪
He held the key in his ~.
▪
Beth grasped the rope with both ~s.
▪ press , squeeze , touch
▪
She pressed his ~. ‘I know,’ she said softly.
▪ shake
▪
He shook Blake's ~ as if they were long lost friends.
▪
He shook ~s with all of us before leaving.
▪ feel
▪
I felt a ~ on my shoulder.
▪ extend , hold out , put out , reach out
▪
She smiled and extended a ~ in welcome.
▪
He put out a ~ as if to touch her.
▪ lay , place , press , put , rest
▪
He laid a ~ on her arm.
▪
She put her ~s to her cheeks in embarrassment.
▪
She rested her ~ on my shoulder.
▪ slap
▪
Jimmy slapped his ~ over his mouth.
▪ slide
▪
He slid his ~s into his pockets.
▪ run
▪
Clive ran a ~ through his hair.
▪ withdraw
▪
Slowly Ruth withdrew her ~ from his.
▪ hold up , lift , put up ( esp. BrE ), raise , throw up
▪
He lifted his ~ to her face.
▪
Several students raised their ~s to answer the question.
▪
She held up her ~ in farewell.
▪
He threw up his ~s in despair when he saw the damage.
▪ spread
▪
She shrugged and spread her ~s. ‘That's all I can tell you.’
▪ wave
▪ clap
▪
We were all clapping our ~s in time to the music.
▪ clasp , clench , wring
▪
He had his ~s clasped behind his head.
▪
She clenched her ~s in her lap to hide their trembling.
▪
He was sobbing and wringing his ~s by the grave.
▪ beat
▪
He beat his ~s on the steering wheel in frustration.
▪ cup
▪
I cupped my ~ over the mouthpiece of the phone so they couldn't hear me.
▪ fold
▪
She folds her ~s in prayer.
▪ rub
▪
She shivered, rubbing her ~s together fiercely.
▪ wash
▪ wipe
HAND + VERB
▪ shake , tremble
▪
Her ~ shook as she lifted the glass to her lips.
▪ be outstretched , reach out , shoot out
▪
She stood up and went over to him, her ~s outstretched.
▪
A strong ~ reached out and caught hold of her arm.
▪ grope for sth , reach for sth , seek sth
▪
My ~ groped for the door handle.
▪
His ~ sought hers.
▪ find sth
▪
His ~ eventually found the light switch.
▪ catch sth , clamp , clasp sth , grab sth , grasp sth , seize sth
▪
The policeman kept a firm ~ clamped on his shoulder.
▪ clutch sth , grip sth , hold sth
▪ clamp , clench , close around sth , close on sth
▪
A heavy ~ clamped over her mouth.
▪
My ~s clenched together tightly.
▪
A ~ closed around her wrist.
▪ claw sth , claw at sth , pull sth , tug sth
▪
His ~s clawed at the muddy earth.
▪ cup sth
▪
His ~s cupped her face.
▪ push sth
▪ squeeze sth , tighten sth
▪ brush sth , brush across sth , brush against sth , caress sth , stroke sth , touch sth
▪
His ~ brushed against hers.
▪ creep , go , move , slide , slip , steal , stray
▪
Muriel's ~ crept to her neck to hold her pearls.
▪ fly
▪
Her ~ flew to her mouth. ‘Oh no!’
▪ jerk , twitch
▪ run over sth , run through sth , trail
▪
Her ~ ran over the surface, feeling the different textures.
▪ freeze , still
▪
His ~ froze in mid-gesture.
▪ hover , roam
▪
My ~ hovered over the switch for a moment.
▪
His ~s roamed over her shoulders.
▪ fumble
▪
My ~s fumbled with the key.
▪ lie , rest
▪
His ~ rested on her shoulder.
▪ go up , shoot up
▪ come down , descend , drop
▪
A large ~ descended on his shoulder.
▪
His ~s dropped to his sides and he fell to the floor.
▪ withdraw
▪ lift , rise
▪
Her ~ lifted to place a cigarette in her mouth.
▪ cover sth
▪
Her ~ moved to cover his.
HAND + NOUN
▪ gesture , movement , position , signal
▪ dryer , towel
▪ axe/ax , drill , saw (usually handsaw ) , tools
▪ pump
▪ blender , mixer
▪
Purée with a ~ blender or food processor.
▪ puppet
▪ drum
▪ mirror
▪ baggage , luggage (both esp. BrE ) ( carry-on baggage in AmE )
▪
You can take your laptop on the plane as ~ luggage.
▪ cream , lotion , sanitizer ( AmE ), soap
▪ grenade , gun (usually handgun )
▪ injury
▪ count , recount (both esp. AmE )
▪
a ~ recount of the vote for governor
PREPOSITION
▪ by ~
▪
Delicate clothes should be washed by ~.
▪ by … ~s
▪
The rocks looked like they had been shaped by human ~s.
▪ in your ~
▪
She had a piece of paper in her ~.
▪
Can I leave these queries in your capable ~s? ( figurative )
▪ on your ~
▪
She had large rings on both ~s.
▪ with your ~
▪
Operate the gears with your left ~.
PHRASES
▪ ball your ~s into fists
▪ fall into the wrong ~s ( figurative )
▪
Guards made sure that the food supplies didn't fall into the wrong ~s.
▪ get your ~s off sb/sth , keep your ~s off sb/sth , take your ~s off sb/sth
▪
She warned her brother to keep his ~s off her bag.
▪ get your ~s on sth , lay your ~s on sth
▪
I desperately need to lay my ~s on some money by Monday.
▪ ~ in ~
▪
They walked ~ in ~ along the path.
▪ ~s on hips
▪
She stood in the doorway, ~s on hips.
▪ head in your ~s
▪
He sat with his head in his ~s.
▪ in safe ~s ( figurative )
▪
He retired feeling confident that his company was in safe ~s.
▪ a safe pair of ~s ( figurative )
▪
She gained a reputation as a safe pair of ~s.
▪ a show of ~s
▪
She asked for a show of ~s ( = asked people to vote ).
▪ on (your) ~s and knees
▪
He was on his ~s and knees, looking for a contact lens.
▪ out of sb's ~s ( figurative )
▪
I don't work in that department any more, so the problem is out of my ~s.
▪ the palm of your ~
▪
She studied the object in the palm of her ~.
▪ with your bare ~s
▪
He killed the lion with his bare ~s.
2 a hand help
VERB + A HAND
▪ give sb , lend (sb)
▪
Can you give me a ~ with loading the van?
▪
At harvest time all the locals lend a ~.
▪ need
▪
Do you need a ~ with those invoices?
▪ want
▪
Do you want a ~ with that?
3 role in a situation
VERB + HAND
▪ have
▪ strengthen
▪
The strategic alliance served to strengthen the country's ~ in the region.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ in
▪
Several of his colleagues had a ~ in his downfall.
4 in card games
ADJECTIVE
▪ bad , good
VERB + HAND
▪ deal (sb)
▪
Who dealt the last ~?
▪
She felt that life had dealt her a bad ~. ( figurative )
▪ get , have
▪ play
▪ overplay ( usually figurative )
▪
The party leadership overplayed its ~.
▪ reveal , show ( usually figurative )
▪
Now the EU has revealed its ~.
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ effectively , practically
▪ formally , officially
▪
formally ~ing over power to the new government
▪ personally
▪
She wanted to ~ the petition to the president personally.
▪ just , merely , simply
▪
They would simply ~ her over to the magistrate as a thief.
▪ quickly
▪ immediately , promptly
▪ grudgingly , reluctantly
▪
He grudgingly ~ed me the money.
▪ carefully , gently
▪
Keith gently ~ed me the little baby girl.
▪ silently , wordlessly
▪ back , down , in , out , over
▪
She ~ed out the exam papers.
VERB + HAND
▪ agree to , be happy to , be prepared to , be ready to , be willing to
▪ be reluctant to , refuse to
▪ force sb to
▪ get ready to , prepare to
▪
The court is getting ready to ~ down a potentially historic decision.
PREPOSITION
▪ to
▪
He ~ed the book to Sally.
Hand is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ baton , ↑ card , ↑ cheque , ↑ diploma , ↑ glass , ↑ passport , ↑ slip , ↑ ticket , ↑ victory