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  • hand-out
    hand-out
    noun
    clothing, food, or money given to a needy person
  • hand out
    hand out
    Distribute, as in The teacher handed out the test papers. [Late 1800s] For a synonym, see pass out, def. 1.
Synonyms

hand-out

British  

noun

  1. clothing, food, or money given to a needy person

  2. a leaflet, free sample, etc, given out to publicize something

  3. a statement or other document distributed to the press or an audience to confirm, supplement, or replace an oral presentation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to distribute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hand out Idioms  
  1. Distribute, as in The teacher handed out the test papers. [Late 1800s] For a synonym, see pass out, def. 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.

See Examples For:

Taliban soldiers kept the crowd reasonably quiet, but people who were told they weren't eligible for a hand-out were angry and frightened.

From BBC Nov. 8, 2021

The hand-out on the dress code had been run off on a mimeograph machine that had seen much better days.

From Time Dec. 10, 2014

Their response is the kind of gratitude a Caesar might hand-out to an innocent messenger on receiving unwelcome news.

From The Guardian Apr. 3, 2013

Many ex-militants complain that they only receive a small portion of the stipend, while their former commanders pocket most of the hand-out.

From Reuters Jun. 4, 2012

She flipped ahead to look at the last page of the hand-out, looking for a clue about where this whole thing would end up.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements

I will see them at the funeral or the parade, whichever the game decides to hand out that day.

From Salon Sep. 9, 2026

"I will be in the city centre to hand out leaflets, answer questions, give directions, be a visible symbol of the volunteers, so people can approach me."

From BBC Aug. 3, 2026

Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs DoubleLine Capital and does not hand out compliments like Halloween candy, put it plainly in a post on social-media platform X: “Even Lacy Hunt has turned bearish, to his credit.”

From MarketWatch Jul. 27, 2026

The trial followed a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal from 2022 to 2024 that described Done’s practices, including its fast prescriptions and how some clinicians felt pressured to hand out stimulants.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 8, 2026

She reaches her free hand out like she’s going to stroke my cheek, but then she folds it back in her lap.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

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