handle
/ˈhæn.d(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.79 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An instrument for effecting a purpose (either literally or figuratively); a tool, or an opportunity or pretext.
noun
The gross amount of wagering within a given period of time or for a given event at one of more establishments.
Example Sentences
- "Once his fingers strayed to the handle of his hunting-knife, and I should have interfered had I not been conscious that Wickliffe was on his guard."
- "By pushing the fork downwards so that its teeth pass the handle of the stopper, and then turning the cover of the desiccator 90°, the handle of the stopper falls into the furrows and rests upon them."
- "By keeping the handle of the bellows fixed in any given position the lung within the chamber could be kept for a short time at any desired degree of distension, and by pressing at intervals upon the bag, air could be forced to and fro between the bad and the lung outside the chamber, without distending the air within it."
- "But first they were gonna stop in Las Vegas / It's off to Las Vegas / To check out the lounges / Pull a few handles"
- "They overturned him to all his interests by the sure but fatal handle of his own good nature."
- "Nothing can be more reprehensible, or wicked, than to make Christian Missions a handle for political expansion."
Etymology
From Middle English handel, handle, from Old English handle (“handle”), from Proto-West Germanic *handulā (“handle”). See verb below. Cognate with German Hantel (“dumbbell, barbell”), Danish handel (“handle”). Related to hand.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Slang
- British usage
- Informal
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb