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• glad hand
  glad hand

  noun

  a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical.
• glad-hand
  glad-hand

  verb (used with object)

  to greet warmly.

glad hand

¹ American  

noun

Informal.

1. a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical.

   Visiting dignitaries were being given the glad hand.

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glad-hand ² American  

[glad-hand] / ˈglædˌhænd /

verb (used with object)

1. to greet warmly.

2. to greet in an insincerely effusive manner.

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verb (used without object)

1. to greet others with enthusiasm, especially feigned enthusiasm.

   The candidate spent weeks glad-handing around the state.

glad hand British  

noun

1. 1. a welcoming hand

   2. a welcome

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verb

1. (tr) to welcome by or as if by offering a hand

glad hand Idioms  

1. A warm and hearty but often insincere welcome or greeting, as in Politicians are apt to give the glad hand to one and all. [Slang; late 1800s]

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Other Word Forms

• glad-hander
  noun

Etymology

Origin of glad hand¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Origin of glad-hand²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glad hand glad-hand

Soccer guided Infantino around the Zurich Hallenstadion to glad hand with delegations from FIFA’s then-207 member associations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

But even as Mr. Xi has offered a glad hand to those and other world leaders in recent weeks, it has been only the cold shoulder for the United States.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

He doesn’t swing at big checkbooks or institutions, certainly nothing solid enough to bruise the glad hand.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2015

They dither, horse trade, glad hand and posture.

From Forbes ● Jul. 11, 2013

You've got to present a smiling countenance to the world and give the glad hand to everybody you're likely to need in your business.

From The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VII. (of X.) by Wilder, Marshall Pinckney

So they have jumped at the chance to glad-hand voters, kiss babies, and hobnob with activists at backyard barbecues and meetups at the chain of Pizza Ranch restaurants that have become an Iowa campaign staple.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

But Cason wasn’t in the lobby that morning to glad-hand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2022

I climbed up a ladder abandoned by a photographer and watched President Biden glad-hand and take selfies with his supporters.

From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2022

It helps him avoid having to glad-hand industry types or audition for roles, which he loathes because he’s terrible at it, he said.

From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2022

He certainly was a glad-hand artist, which is what a bank president has to be today—he's got to be a speaker and a handshaker.

From The Man Next Door by Hough, Emerson