manhandle
Americanverb (used with object)
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manhandles,
present (3rd person singular)
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manhandled,
past participle, past
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manhandling
present participle
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to handle roughly.
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to move by human strength, without the use of mechanical appliances.
verb
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to handle or push (someone) about roughly
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to move or do by manpower rather than by machinery
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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manhandlesimple
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manhandlessimple
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have manhandledperfect
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has manhandledperfect
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am manhandlingprogressive
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are manhandlingprogressive
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is manhandlingprogressive
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have been manhandlingperfect progressive
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has been manhandlingperfect progressive
Past
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manhandledsimple
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had manhandledperfect
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was manhandlingprogressive
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were manhandlingprogressive
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had been manhandlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of manhandle
Explanation
When you manhandle something, you pick it up, push it, or pull it roughly. You might gasp watching movers manhandle your fragile furniture as they load it into a moving van. You can manhandle things, and you can also manhandle people, shoving or grabbing them. If security workers at the airport manhandle a little old lady, nearby passengers will probably speak up in her defense. This current meaning arose in the late nineteenth century — earlier, manhandle meant "attack an enemy," and before that, "wield a tool."
Vocabulary lists containing manhandle
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.
See Examples For:
It was now left to Ian to manhandle the larger section of the stone into the boot of the car.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2022
One effect of Title IX as it approaches its 50th anniversary is this: It created not just stronger women but ones who know a muscle-bound court ruling that might manhandle them when they see it.
From Washington Post ● May 13, 2022
BYU was a 19 ½-point favorite and was expected to manhandle the Eagles.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2021
I know Chase Young can manhandle a blocking sled.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2021
He sits up and reads from his phone, ‘“Vancouver, Washington, police manhandle black teen at house party.’”
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
At 6 feet 9 and 330 pounds, he manhandles players from other schools.
From Washington Post ● May 10, 2016
Eifman manhandles Gershwin’s “Concerto in F” and “I Got Rhythm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2015
Toibin never manhandles life and would in fact prefer not to leave any fingerprints on its lapels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2014
In its turn, Oxford manhandles him considerably, de-bagging* him, staging mock parades in his honor to the tune of Ovah Theah.
From Time Magazine Archive
On Friday, Syed Wajid Ali Shah Gillani, president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, alleged in a video statement that police manhandled the couple before arresting them.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
And for crucial stretches of the game, including during a 13-1 run that turned a deficit into an insurmountable lead, backup center Mitchell Robinson manhandled the wispier Wembanyama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
According to the New York Times, Trump liked Lewandowski for his “feisty instincts and off-color humor” but he ended up reluctantly firing him after he’d manhandled a reporter.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2025
He was manhandled by Saracens' back row last weekend, but still emerged victorious.
From BBC ● May 24, 2025
When I touched it, it stuck to me; when I manhandled it, it turned leathery.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
“We’ll be here till tomorrow dealing with this blaze,” said Major Issa Hamdoun, a civil defense commander, as he watched his men manhandling the fire hose into the wreckage of the building.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
"I just saw something that sickened my stomach," Schumer said, "the manhandling of a United States Senator."
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2025
Almighty skating and sleight-of-hand playmaking can, in an instant, give way to manhandling opposing players.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2022
The incident, which was captured in video footage and shared on social media, showed Whitty struggling to get away from the pair, who appeared to be manhandling him while trying to take a selfie.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2021
He held the furious boy away, but he was frightened of what the consequences might be of defying a direct order from the son of a senator, let alone manhandling him.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
