handle

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA ^(key): /ˈhæn.dl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular handle

Plural handles

The handle on a car door

1. (countable) A handle is the part of an object that you hold with your hand when you want to use or move the object. Some examples of handles are: the shaft of a sword, the knob of a door, etc.

   I grabbed the handle on the drawer and opened it.

2. (countable); (slang) A handle is a nickname or pseudonym.
3. (Australia) (New Zealand) A handle is a 10 fl oz (285 ml) glass of beer in the Northern Territory.
4. (countable), (US) A handle is a 1.75-liter (half-gallon) bottle of alcohol.

Related words

• handlebars
• love handle

Verb

Plain form handle

Third-person singular handles

Past tense handled

Past participle handled

Present participle handling

1. If you handle something, you touch it, you feel it with your hand.
2. How you handle an object is how you use it.

   You handle that gun pretty well.

3. To give and take; to have something pass through your hands; to buy and sell

   As a cashier, I handle money every day.

   That store handles many different items.

4. To deal with; to make a business of.

   They that handle the law knew me not – Jeremiah, 2:8

5. To treat; to use, well or ill.

   How were you handled in prison?

6. To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.

   It won't be easy, but I think I can handle it.