hand over hand
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the aid of an "elbow" joint, it will shift position by moving hand over hand.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2021
“They formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person to the next, through the smoky building and out the door,” Orlean writes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2019
He grabs a cord leading out of the tube and reels it up, hand over hand, until a cigar-shaped capsule emerges—a packet of neutron-absorbing cadmium.
From Science Magazine • Aug. 31, 2017
The fireball caused burns over more than 70 percent of Bruner’s body, but he found the strength to climb a rope 100 feet hand over hand to the repair ship Vestal.
From Washington Times • Dec. 20, 2015
Lord Roke climbed down hand over hand in the thick fleece of her coat, until he reached the hem at the level of her knees.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
