# handle

Pronunciation: say "HAN-dl" /ˈhæn.dl̩/

## Verb

1. To manage, control, or direct something.
   - Simple: To be in charge of a job, task, or group and keep it working.
   - _The new manager handles all scheduling for the department._
   - _Volunteers handle ticket sales throughout the festival weekend._
2. To treat or deal with someone or something in a particular way.
   - Simple: To deal with someone or something in a certain way.
   - _The diplomat handled the tense negotiation with remarkable tact._
   - _Front-desk staff are trained to handle complaints calmly._
4. To put up with something difficult and keep going.
   - Simple: To be able to deal with something hard without giving up.
   - _I'm not sure the old engine can handle another long trip._
   - _She handles criticism without losing her confidence._
5. To use, work, or move something with the hands, especially with skill.
   - Simple: To use or move something with your hands, often with skill.
   - _The potter handles the wet clay with practiced fingers._
   - _Soldiers learn to handle their weapons safely._
6. To respond in a particular way when being driven, steered, or controlled.
   - Simple: To act in a certain way when someone drives, steers, or controls it.
   - _Lightweight bikes handle nimbly through city traffic._
   - _The yacht handles smoothly even in rough seas._
7. To touch, feel, or hold something with the hands.
   - Simple: To touch or hold something with your hands.
   - _Visitors are asked not to handle the museum artifacts._
   - _He handled each coin carefully before placing it in the case._
10. To receive and pass on goods; hence, to buy and sell them.
   - Simple: To buy and sell goods, or move them from place to place.
   - _The firm handles imported electronics from several countries._
   - _Few merchants handle goods of such high value._
11. To deal with a subject, argument, or theme in speech, writing, or art.
   - Simple: To talk about or show a subject in writing, speech, or art.
   - _The essay handles a complex moral question with clarity._
   - _Painters of that era often handle mythological themes._
14. In soccer, to touch the ball illegally with the hand or arm.
   - Simple: To touch the ball with your hand or arm against the rules in soccer.
   - _The referee ruled that the striker had handled just before scoring._
   - _Players who handle deliberately are usually booked._

## Noun

3. The part of an object made to be held in the hand when it is used or moved.
   - Simple: The part of a tool or object that you hold in your hand.
   - _The hammer's wooden handle had cracked after years of use._
   - _He pulled the door open by its cold brass handle._
8. A grasp of something, or a means of getting it under control or coping with it; followed by "on". *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A clear idea of something, or a way to control it, used with "on".
   - _Economists still don't have a good handle on how the new tariffs will affect prices._
   - _The city is struggling to get a handle on its rising number of car thefts._
9. A name or nickname used to identify someone, especially over the radio or on the internet. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A name or nickname someone uses online or on the radio.
   - _Truckers still use colorful handles on the CB radio._
   - _She posted the warning from a handle nobody recognized._
12. A means of achieving a purpose; a tool, an opportunity, or a pretext.
   - Simple: A tool, chance, or reason you can use to get something done.
   - _Opponents seized on the leaked memo as a handle against the chairman._
   - _The minister's offhand remark about the poor gave his rivals exactly the handle they had been waiting for._
13. A 1.75-liter bottle of liquor, sometimes loosely called a half-gallon. *(US)*
   - Simple: A big bottle of alcohol that holds about 1.75 liters.
   - _He picked up a handle of whiskey on the way home._
   - _Two handles of rum disappeared before midnight._
16. Slang for a title attached to a person's name, such as Doctor or Colonel. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a title that goes before someone's name, like Doctor or Colonel.
   - _Though he had left the army decades earlier, he still liked a handle to his name and signed every letter 'Captain Reed.'_
   - _The new members were amused by how much the old doctor valued the handle in front of his name._
17. Slang for a person's nose. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a person's nose.
18. A reference to an object or data structure that a program can store in a variable.
   - Simple: A name or number that lets a program find and use a piece of data.
   - _The function returns a handle that the rest of the code uses to access the resource._
   - _When the window closes, the system releases the handle it assigned._
19. The total amount of money bet on an event or over a period, across one or more betting places or pools.
   - Simple: All the money people bet on an event or over a period of time, added together.
   - _Super Bowl Sunday produces the largest single-day handle of the year for most sportsbooks._
   - _Regulators track the monthly handle to estimate tax revenue._
21. The character of a fabric as perceived by touch, judged by qualities such as softness, firmness, elasticity, fineness, and resilience.
   - Simple: The way a fabric feels when you touch it: soft, firm, stretchy, smooth, and so on.
   - _The finishing process gives the cotton a smoother handle._
   - _Silk is prized for its cool, fluid handle against the skin._
22. A pint-sized glass beer mug with a handle on its side, traditionally made of dimpled glass. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: A dimpled beer glass that has a grip on the side, used for serving a pint.
   - _The old pub still serves its ale in a dimpled handle._
   - _He lifted the heavy handle of bitter and drank deeply._
23. A glass of beer: in Australia's Northern Territory a 10-fluid-ounce (285-milliliter) glass, in New Zealand a larger glass with a handle. *(Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A small glass of beer holding about 10 fluid ounces, or 285 milliliters.
   - _The barman slid a frothy handle across the counter._
   - _They each downed a handle while waiting for the footy to start._

## Verb

15. To get an animal used to being touched or held, and to care for it by hand. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To get an animal used to being touched, and to care for it by hand.
   - _Falconers handle their birds constantly to keep them tame._
   - _He handled the orphaned calf until it accepted the bottle._
20. To be concerned with a subject or to be an expert in it. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To deal with a subject, or to be skilled and knowledgeable in it.

## Noun

24. A point of land, or a narrow projecting tip reaching out into the water. *(rare, Newfoundland and Labrador)*
   - Simple: A piece of land that sticks out, like a point reaching into the sea.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A space topologically equivalent to a closed ball, viewed as a product of two closed balls, either of which may be a point.
- (noun) In a comb, the one smooth and irreducible subcurve that every other component meets at precisely one point.

## Origin

**Meanings 3, 8–9, 12–13, 16–19, 21–24** — From Middle English handel, from Old English handle ("a handle"), related to the verb and to hand.
**Meanings 1–2, 4–7, 10–11, 14–15, 20** — It goes back to Proto-Germanic *handulōną ("to take, grip, feel"), in effect hand plus the suffix -le, which became Old English handlian ("to handle, feel, deal with, discuss") and then Middle English handlen. Related words include Dutch handelen, German handeln ("to act, trade, negotiate"), and Swedish handla ("to buy, trade").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/handle (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).