handshake

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hand·shake

(hănd′shāk′)

1. The grasping of hands by two people, as in greeting or leave-taking.

2. Computers An exchange of signals between two devices when communications begin in order to ensure synchronization.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

handshake

(ˈhændˌʃeɪk)

the act of grasping and shaking a person's hand, as when being introduced or agreeing on a deal

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hand•shake

(ˈhændˌʃeɪk)

n.

1. a gripping and shaking of each other's hand, as to symbolize greeting, agreement, or farewell.

2. an exchange of signals in a computer system, ensuring synchronization whenever a connection, as with another device, is initially established.

Handshake

A grip like a trash compactor —Jonathan Valin
A grip like a weightlifter —Harvey Swados
Grip like iron —Walker Percy
A grip like pincers —Gerald Kersh
Hand gripped like bird claws —Wallace Stegner
(Your) hand grips mine like a railing on an icy night —Adrienne Rich
Hand … pumping at mine as if he expected my fingertips to squirt milk or something —T. Coraghessan Boyle
Handshake like a bite —Leonard Michaels
Handshake like cold, cooked spaghetti —Mark Singer
Her hand was limp as a dead carp —Jay Parini
His fingers pressed my hand like pieces of wood —Aharon Megged
Shook hands … like competitors before a match of some kind —Ross Macdonald
Shook hands like strangers —John Dos Passos
Took it (the hand) cautiously, as if he were picking up a loathsome object preparatory to dropping it in the trash basket —Evan Hunter
(She) took Jim’s soft fingers and held them closely, until he felt that they had been drawn into a mangle —Frank Swinnerton

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

handshake - grasping and shaking a person's hand (as to acknowledge an introduction or to agree on a contract)

handclasp, handshaking, shake

contract - a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

acknowledgement, acknowledgment - a statement acknowledging something or someone; "she must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment"; "the preface contained an acknowledgment of those who had helped her"

Translations

مُصافَحَة باليَد

podání ruky

håndtryk

Händedruck

apretón de manos

poignée poignée de main

kézfogás

handaband

stretta di mano

håndtrykk

podanie ruky

rokovanje

el sıkışma

握手

handshake

[ˈhændʃeɪk] N → apretón m de manos (Comput) → coloquio m; (as data signal) → "acuse de recibo"
she had a firm or strong handshake → estrechaba la mano con fuerza
she had a weak handshake → estrechaba la mano muy débilmente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

handshake

[ˈhændʃeɪk] n

(between people) → poignée f de main

(COMPUTING) → établissement m de liaison, établissement m de connexionhands-off [ˌhændzˈɒf] adj [policy] → de non-intervention

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

handshake

→ Händedruck m

(Comput) → Handshake m, → Quittungsaustausch m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

handshake

[ˈhændˌʃeɪk] n → stretta di mano

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hand

(hӕnd) noun

1. the part of the body at the end of the arm.

2. a pointer on a clock, watch etc. Clocks usually have an hour hand and a minute hand.

3. a person employed as a helper, crew member etc. a farm hand; All hands on deck!

4. help; assistance. Can I lend a hand?; Give me a hand with this box, please.

5. a set of playing-cards dealt to a person. I had a very good hand so I thought I had a chance of winning.

6. a measure (approximately centimetres) used for measuring the height of horses. a horse of 14 hands.

7. handwriting. written in a neat hand.

verb

(often with back, ~down, ~up etc).

1. to give (something) to someone by hand. I handed him the book; He handed it back to me; I'll go up the ladder, and you can hand the tools up to me.

2. to pass, transfer etc into another's care etc. That is the end of my report from Paris. I'll now hand you back to Fred Smith in the television studio in London.

ˈhandful noun

1. as much as can be held in one hand. a handful of sweets.

2. a small number. Only a handful of people came to the meeting.

3. a person etc difficult to control. Her three children are a (bit of a) handful.

ˈhandbag noun

(American usually purse) a small bag carried by women, for personal belongings.

ˈhandbill noun

a small printed notice.

ˈhandbook noun

a small book giving information about (how to do) something. a handbook of European birds; a bicycle-repair handbook.

ˈhandbrake noun

(in a car, bus etc) a brake operated by the driver's hand.

ˈhandcuff verb

to put handcuffs on (a person). The police handcuffed the criminal.

ˈhandcuffs noun plural

steel rings, joined by a short chain, put round the wrists of prisoners. a pair of handcuffs.

ˈhand-lens noun

a magnifying-glass held in the hand.

ˌhandˈmade adjective

made with a person's hands or with tools held in the hands, rather than by machines. hand-made furniture.

hand-ˈoperated adjective

hand-operated switches.

ˈhand-outhand outbelowˌhand-ˈpicked adjective

chosen very carefully. a hand-picked team of workers.

ˈhandshake noun

the act of grasping (a person's) hand eg as a greeting.

ˈhandstand noun

the gymnastic act of balancing one's body upright in the air with one's hands on the ground.

ˈhandwriting noun

1. writing with a pen or pencil. Today we will practise handwriting.

2. the way in which a person writes. Your handwriting is terrible!

ˈhandwritten adjective

The letter was handwritten, not typed.

at hand

1. (with close or near) near. The bus station is close at hand.

2. available. Help is at hand.

at the hands of

from, or by the action of. He received very rough treatment at the hands of the terrorists.

be hand in glove (with someone)

to be very closely associated with someone, especially for a bad purpose.

by hand

1. with a person's hand or tools held in the hands, rather than with machinery. furniture made by hand.

2. not by post but by a messenger etc. This parcel was delivered by hand.

fall into the hands (of someone)

to be caught, found, captured etc by someone. He fell into the hands of bandits; The documents fell into the wrong hands (= were found, captured etc by someone who was not supposed to see them).

force someone's hand

to force someone to do something either which he does not want to do or sooner than he wants to do it.

get one's hands on

1. to catch. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll make him sorry for what he did!

2. to get or obtain. I'd love to get my hands on a car like that.

give/lend a helping hand

to help or assist. I'm always ready to give/lend a helping hand.

hand down

to pass on from one generation to the next. These customs have been handed down from father to son since the Middle Ages.

hand in

to give or bring to a person, place etc. The teacher told the children to hand in their exercise-books.

hand in hand

with one person holding the hand of another. The boy and girl were walking along hand in hand; Poverty and crime go hand in hand.

hand on

to give to someone. When you have finished reading these notes, hand them on to me.

hand out

to give to several people; to distribute. The teacher handed out books to all the pupils; They were handing out leaflets in the street.

hand-out noun

a leaflet.

handout noun

1. a leaflet or a copy of a piece of paper with information given to students in class, distributed at a meeting etc. You'll find the diagram on page four of your handout.

2. money, clothes etc given to a very poor person or a beggar.

hand over

to give or pass; to surrender. We know you have the jewels, so hand them over; They handed the thief over to the police.

hand over fist

in large amounts, usually quickly. He's making money hand over fist.

hands down

very easily. You'll win hands down.

hands off!

do not touch!.

hands-on adjective

practical; involving active participation. hands-on experience with computers.

hands up!

raise your hands above your head. `Hands up!' shouted the gunman.

hand to hand with one individual fighting another at close quarters: The soldiers fought the enemy hand to hand; () adjective (etc)

hand-to-hand fighting.

have a hand in (something)

to be one of the people who have caused, done etc (something). Did you have a hand in the building of this boat / in the success of the project?

have/get/gain the upper hand

to (begin to) win, beat the enemy etc. The enemy made a fierce attack but failed to get the upper hand.

hold hands (with someone)

to be hand in hand with someone. The boy and girl walked along holding hands (with each other).

in good hands

receiving care and attention. The patient is in good hands.

in hand

1. not used etc; remaining. We still have $10 in hand.

2. being dealt with. We have received your complaint and the matter is now in hand.

in the hands of

being dealt with by. This matter is now in the hands of my solicitor.

keep one's hand in

to remain good or skilful at doing something by doing it occasionally. I still sometimes play a game of billiards, just to keep my hand in.

off one's hands

no longer needing to be looked after etc. You'll be glad to get the children off your hands for a couple of weeks.

on hand

near; present; ready for use etc. We always keep some candles on hand in case there's a power failure.

(on the one hand) … on the other hand

an expression used to introduce two opposing parts of an argument etc. (On the one hand) we could stay and help you, but on the other hand, it might be better if we went to help him instead.

out of hand

unable to be controlled. The angry crowd was getting out of hand.

shake hands with (someone) / shake someone's hand

to grasp a person's (usually right) hand, in one's own (usually right) hand, as a form of greeting, as a sign of agreement etc.

a show of hands

at a meeting, debate etc, a vote expressed by people raising their hands.

take in hand

to look after, discipline or train.

to hand

here; easily reached. All the tools you need are to hand.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Higgins"-- handshake, followed by a devouring stare and "I'm glad to see ye," on the part of Higgins, and a courteous inclination of the head and a pleasant "Most happy!" on the part of Count Luigi.

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He was usually cold and distant with men, but with all women he had a silent, grave familiarity, a special handshake, accompanied by a significant, deliberate look.

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She greeted Dorothy with a kiss, the Shaggy Man with a smile, the little old Wizard with a friendly handshake and then she pressed the Scarecrow's stuffed arm and cried merrily:

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Thomson rose to his feet and received a genial handshake, after which the newcomer glanced at Ambrose.

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I'd rather have a hearty English handshake than all the sentimental salutations in France."

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We were as much heroes as anybody else, except Peter, and were so recognized; we were taken with Peter and the populace to Peter's mother's cottage, and there we ate bread and cheese, and drank milk and beer with everybody, and had a most sociable good time; and when we left we had a handshake all around, and were receiving and shouting back LEB' WOHL's until a turn in the road separated us from our cordial and kindly new friends forever.

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Some must have the flowering crocus, the wood-starring dogwood, the voice of bluebird--even so gross a reminder as the farewell handshake of the retiring buckwheat and oyster before they can welcome the Lady in Green to their dull bosoms.

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At Euston the two men separated with a silent handshake. Mr.

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For his final handshake was hearty enough to send me away something ashamed of my precipitancy, and with a further sense of having shown him small gratitude for his kindly anxiety on my behalf.

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She was frying bacon and at the same time keeping an eye on the younger children, but she had a hearty handshake and a jolly smile for Philip.

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Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring!" The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking.

View in context

"je te croyais bete et tu en avais l'air, but it suited you." Then, having given me a final handshake, she exclaimed, "Attends!"; whereafter, running into her boudoir, she brought me thence two thousand-franc notes.