- present participle of handle.
handling
Americannoun
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a touching, grasping, or using with the hands.
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the manner of treating or dealing with something; management; treatment.
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the manual or mechanical method or process by which something is moved, carried, transported, etc.
adjective
noun
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the act or an instance of picking up, turning over, or touching something
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treatment, as of a theme in literature
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the process by which a commodity is packaged, transported, etc
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( as modifier )
handling charges
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law the act of receiving property that one knows or believes to be stolen
Etymology
Origin of handling
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English handlung (noun); equivalent to handle + -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I want to be there, waiting for brunch, with the reassuring knowledge that the restaurant is handling the details.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
His expressive handling of broad color areas may be abruptly stopped by a fussy attention to his personnel’s facial features, as if a Victorian code of good painterly behavior were suddenly reasserting itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Director Tran Trung Thanh told AFP the state institution had acquired and developed "a world-first process for handling remains that have undergone severe degradation".
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Raman has described her handling of that proposal as her biggest mistake at City Hall, saying she had failed to do the necessary work to build support and created “unnecessary friction.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
“It’s one of them horrid telegraph things, mum,” she said, handling it as if she was afraid it would explode and do some damage.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
