panhandle

1
[ pan-han-dl ]
See synonyms for: panhandlepanhandlingpanhandler on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the handle of a pan.

  2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a long, narrow, projecting strip of territory that is not a peninsula, especially such a part of a specified state: the panhandle of Alaska; the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

Origin of panhandle

1
First recorded in 1855–60; pan1 + handle

Words Nearby panhandle

Other definitions for panhandle (2 of 2)

panhandle2
[ pan-han-dl ]

verb (used without object),pan·han·dled, pan·han·dling.
  1. to accost passers-by on the street, riders on the subway, motorists stopped at red lights, etc., and beg from them.

verb (used with object),pan·han·dled, pan·han·dling.
  1. to accost and beg from.

  2. to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.

Origin of panhandle

2
An Americanism first recorded in 1885–90; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle1

Other words from panhandle

  • pan·han·dler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use panhandle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for panhandle (1 of 2)

panhandle1

/ (ˈpænˌhændəl) /


noun
  1. (sometimes capital) (in the US) a narrow strip of land that projects from one state into another

  2. (in a South African city) a plot of land without street frontage

British Dictionary definitions for panhandle (2 of 2)

panhandle2

/ (ˈpænˌhændəl) /


verb
  1. US and Canadian informal to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street

Origin of panhandle

2
C19: probably a back formation from panhandler a person who begs with a pan

Derived forms of panhandle

  • panhandler, noun

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