hand over fist

Idioms  

1. Rapidly, at a tremendous rate, as in He's making money hand over fist. This expression is derived from the nautical hand over hand, describing how a sailor climbed a rope. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hand over fist

“Instead of buying hand over fist, China may cool down a little bit,” said Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at OPIS, which, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by Dow Jones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

England made metres hand over fist and, that intensity, combined with set-piece dominance, made a breakthrough inevitable.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025

“These companies are extremely profitable and will continue to make money hand over fist whether they’re selling combustion engines or EVs,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

"Most of these guys are generating cash hand over fist and they are trying to reduce their reliance on banks, because they have seen how quickly banks are turning on the industry."

From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2022

OK, so we were losing money hand over fist, my dad was crumbling like a day-old scone, and my brother might die.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick