handshake
- 01 B1 Intermediate
the act of two people holding and shaking each other's hands to say hello, goodbye, or to show they agree.
the act of grasping and shaking hands by two individuals as a gesture of greeting, farewell, or the formalisation of an agreement.
Simple“The two leaders ended the meeting with a firm handshake for the cameras.”
In context“After hours of intense negotiation, the deal was finally sealed with a handshake, signifying mutual trust before the legal documents were drafted.”
Synonymsshaking hands - 02 C1 Advanced
the way two computers or devices start a connection by sending signals to each other.
an automated exchange of signals between two devices or systems to establish a communication protocol and ensure synchronisation.
Simple“The connection failed because the two devices couldn't complete the initial handshake.”
In context“The three-way handshake is a fundamental process in TCP/IP networking that ensures both the client and server are ready to transmit data.”
Synonyms
From hand + shake. See the appendix for the history of the gesture itself.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.