1. (

• hand ,
• manus ,
• mitt ,
• paw ,

) the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb; "he had the hands of a surgeon"; "he extended his mitt" ;

2. (

• hired_hand ,
• hand ,
• hired_man

) a hired laborer on a farm or ranch; "the hired hand fixed the railing"; "a ranch hand" ;

3. (

• handwriting ,
• hand ,
• script ,

) something written by hand; "she recognized his handwriting"; "his hand was illegible" ;

4. (

• hand

) ability; "he wanted to try his hand at singing" ;

5. (

• hand

) a position given by its location to the side of an object; "objections were voiced on every hand" ;

6. (

• hand ,
• deal

) the cards held in a card game by a given player at any given time; "I didn't hold a good hand all evening"; "he kept trying to see my hand" ;

7. (

• hand ,

) one of two sides of an issue; "on the one hand..., but on the other hand..." ;

8. (

• hand

) a rotating pointer on the face of a timepiece; "the big hand counts the minutes" ;

9. (

• hand

) a unit of length equal to 4 inches; used in measuring horses; "the horse stood 20 hands" ;

10. (

• hand ,

) a member of the crew of a ship; "all hands on deck" ;

11. (

• bridge_player ,
• hand ,

) a card player in a game of bridge; "we need a 4th hand for bridge" ;

12. (

• hand ,

) a round of applause to signify approval; "give the little lady a great big hand" ;

13. (

• hand ,

) terminal part of the forelimb in certain vertebrates (e.g. apes or kangaroos); "the kangaroo's forearms seem undeveloped but the powerful five-fingered hands are skilled at feinting and clouting"- Springfield (Mass.) Union ;

14. (

• hand ,
• helping_hand

) physical assistance; "give me a hand with the chores" ;

1. (

• pass ,
• hand ,
• reach ,
• pass_on ,
• turn_over ,
• give ,

) place into the hands or custody of; "hand me the spoon, please"; "Turn the files over to me, please"; "He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers" ;

2. (

• hand

) guide or conduct or usher somewhere; "hand the elderly lady into the taxi" ;