ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hand

n. countable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈhænd// UK //hˈænd// hand Archaic General-service Informal

n. the part of your body at the end of your arm. You use it to hold, touch, or move things.

n. the terminal part of the vertebrate forelimb, specifically the human extremity below the wrist. It consists of the palm, four fingers, and an opposable thumb.


SIMPLE

She holds the pen in her right hand.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor asked the patient to open and close their hand to check for any pain in the joints.

COMPLEX

The artist spent years studying the intricate anatomy of the human hand, focusing on how the tendons move beneath the skin when the fingers grip an object.

Synonyms
Origin

* As a Dutch, German, and English surname, from the noun hand, or used to translate surname for hand in other languages. * Also as an English surname, possibly from a pet form of Randall or names like Johan and Henry.

Usage

Commonly used in idioms such as 'on the other hand' or 'give someone a hand'.

Pitfall

I have pain in my hands fingersI have pain in my fingersLearners sometimes use 'hand' as a general term for fingers, but English distinguishes between the whole hand and the individual fingers.

Idioms54 entries

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