by hand

Idioms  

1. With a hand or hands, manually (as opposed to a machine or some other means). For example, This letter was delivered by hand, or You can make these drawings by hand, but computer graphics are more efficient. [Mid-1500s]

---

Example Sentences

Flores checks for spills, then empties the mug back into the pot by hand and does it again — hundreds of times.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026

It will be beautiful, made by hand, wrapped in brown paper tied with twine.

From Salon • May 27, 2026

No, the analogy can’t take us that far; there are no ingredients here, just a calculation you could, in principle, do by hand.

From Slate • May 25, 2026

Kahan, who has his own tattoos, wrote out some of his lyrics by hand and posted shots on Twitter for fans who wanted to plan their ink.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

We ran through the dark tunnels, listening to the roar of the Sphinx behind us as she complained about all the tests she would have to grade by hand.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan