handmade
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of handmade
Explanation
Something that's handmade wasn't made by a machine, but formed, built, or constructed by an actual person. A handmade sweater from your grandma is one she knit herself. Handmade items can look awkward and inexpertly constructed, but just as often they're more beautiful and special than their machine-made counterparts. Handmade pottery is unique, each bowl or mug looking slightly different since they're made and glazed individually, by hand. A handmade birthday card from a young relative is charming in a way its Hallmark equivalent could never be. Handmade comes from the sense of "made by hand."
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.
Another social media user called it "pure handmade" and the biggest "dark horse" of the summer movie season.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Maybe I’m loopy, but I’d even swear the entrance to Billy’s screening room has a handmade mural of the Roku City screensaver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
For drummer Derin Bayhan, he would only ever use Istanbul-made cymbals because they're "100 percent handmade" and each one has a unique sound.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Brands such as Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Chanel and Dior showcased custom, handmade designs that take hundreds of hours to create.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
One woman who came trying to sell us her handmade baskets looked in our door and spied our scissors and asked right flat out if she could have them!
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
