Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have one's hands full

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.29 in modern English

Syllables
have one's hand-s -full
IPA
30
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
3
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be busy or thoroughly preoccupied.

Example Sentences

Inflected Forms

has one's hands full (present, singular) having one's hands full (participle, present) had one's hands full (participle, past) had one's hands full (past) have one's handful (alternative, obsolete)

Phrases

have one's hands tied tie one's hands

Frequently Paired Words

handful have one's hands tied tie one's hands

Questions

What does have one's hands full mean?
To be busy or thoroughly preoccupied.

How to pronounce have one's hands full

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “have one's hands full”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “have one's hands full”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “have one's hands full” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.